Here's What Robinhood CEO Said About Retail’s Inability To Tap Private Markets: 'It's A Tragedy'

Robinhood Markets Inc. (HOOD) CEO Vlad Tenev expressed his disappointment that retail participants are unable to join startups on their journey of creating wealth for investors.

“A big tragedy is that private markets are where the bulk of the interesting appreciation and exposure is nowadays,” Tenev said in an interview with Bloomberg.

Stocks in privately held companies are not available for subscription to the general public. Tenev said Robinhood is working to solve this problem, likely referring to the tokens that the brokerage launched for unlisted companies such as OpenAI and SpaceX.

“That’s where I would point to as the greatest remaining iniquity and opportunity in our capital markets,” Tenev said.

Robinhood’s shares traded 1.6% higher at the time of writing. Stocktwits data shows the retail sentiment around the stock was in the ‘bearish’ territory.

Earlier this month, Robinhood came under scrutiny for offering stock tokens from OpenAI, SpaceX, and other companies. While OpenAI publicly distanced itself from the offering, the Bank of Lithuania, the lead European Union regulator for Robinhood, sought clarification from the company in this regard.

Tenev defended the product, saying it allows retail investors to gain exposure to these companies, and that equity is not “entirely relevant.”

He explained that these stock tokens being offered by Robinhood are backed by a special purpose vehicle. Tenev also called it an innovative way for individual investors to gain exposure to these private startups.

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