About recurring investments and orders | Robinhood

About recurring investments and orders

Recurring Investments Flow

With recurring investments, you can automatically invest in stocks and ETFs with Robinhood Financial and trade in crypto with Robinhood Crypto, all on your own schedule. You can use this to help make investing a habit and build your portfolio long term. Just remember all investing involves risk, including loss of principal.

FAQ

How do recurring investments work?

For example, let's say you set up a recurring investment to buy $10 of fictional stock YOWL every week on Monday. When Monday rolls around, we’ll automatically purchase $10 worth of YOWL for your investing account.

This means if YOWL is currently trading at $40 per share, you’ll receive 0.25 shares of YOWL. If YOWL is trading at $20 per share the following Monday, you’ll receive an additional 0.5 shares, for a total of 0.75 shares.

Note

We only support dollar-based orders on recurring investments, which typically results in fractional shares or fractions of a coin. You can't set up a recurring investment for an order of whole shares or coins.

How do I create a recurring investment or order?

App

  1. Open the detail page of the stock, ETF, or crypto to set up for a recurring order
  2. Select Buy or TradeBuy
  3. Select Dollars or Shares for stocks and ETFs or Market buy for crypto
  4. In Order Types, choose Recurring Investment
  5. Enter the start date, frequency, preferred payment method, and dollar amount

NOTE: If you choose to pay with buying power, you can also add a backup payment method. This helps your recurring investments stay on track if you run out of buying power.

  1. Select Review Order
  2. If everything looks good, swipe up to submit it

Web

  1. Open the detail page of the stock, ETF, or crypto to set up for a recurring order
  2. From the menu, select Recurring Investment from the list of order types
  3. Enter the dollar amount, frequency, start date, and payment method you prefer.

NOTE: If you choose to pay with buying power, you can also add a backup payment method. This helps your recurring investments stay on track if you run out of buying power.

  1. Select Review Order
  2. If everything looks good, select Submit
How do I edit or cancel a recurring investment or order?

App

  1. In InvestingRecurring Investments, select the recurring order you want to edit
  2. To pause it, select the green toggle to switch it to Paused
  3. To delete this recurring investment, select Cancel recurring investment
  4. Alternatively, select the applicable row to change the amount you’re investing, the investment schedule, the payment method, or the backup payment method

Web

  1. In the Recurring Investments section for your holdings, select the recurring investment you want to edit
  2. Select Edit Investment
  3. Make any applicable changes, and then select Review Changes
  4. If it all looks good, select Save Changes
How do recurring investments work with instant deposits?

Instant Deposits is money that Robinhood gives you access to so you can invest while your bank transfers are being processed. Every account has an instant deposit limit. To find yours, go to AccountInvestingInstant Deposits Health.

If you fund your recurring investment with a bank account, some of your instant deposits will be used to place the order while the money from your bank is on the move. For example, a $50 recurring investment funded with a bank account will use up $50 of your instant deposits limit.

However, sometimes you might not have enough instant deposits available for a recurring order—you might have used them to place other orders, for example. When that happens, your recurring order will be placed once the transfer from your bank is added to your investing account, which can take up to 5 business days.

For example, if your $50 recurring order funded through your bank account is scheduled for today but you don’t have any instant deposits, the bank transfer will start and your order will be placed after the transfer is complete.

Recurring investments for stocks and ETFs

How does the timing of a recurring stock or ETF investment order work?

Recurring investment orders will typically start to be processed between 11 AM ET and market close on the scheduled date. If your recurring investment order falls on a day that the market is closed, like a weekend or holiday, it will be scheduled for the next trading day.

How does pricing for a recurring stock or ETF investment order work?

To fill recurring investment orders, we group them in batch market orders. Typically, we create one batch order for each security but sometimes we need to create multiple batch orders.

Each batch order is converted into one or more share-based orders that are routed to the market for execution. To figure out how many shares you’ll receive for a recurring investment, we divide your investment amount by the weighted average price per share for each batch order. You may end up with fractional shares.

Recurring investment orders are typically filled during regular market hours (9:30 AM to 4 PM ET).

Example

Let’s say you have a weekly investment of $50 for YOWL and the batch order was executed at a weighted average price per share of $5. Then you’ll get 10 shares of YOWL that week.

Why was my stock or ETF recurring investment paused or skipped?

Your recurring investment might get paused automatically for a number of reasons, including:

  • The bank transfer for your order was reversed—this sometimes happens if the bank account has insufficient funds
  • The bank account you chose for your primary payment method was unlinked
  • The stock or ETF at the time the order would’ve been placed had a trade restriction
  • Your account was set to position-closing only, meaning you weren’t able to place buy orders

A recurring order also might be automatically skipped for these reasons:

  • You didn’t have enough buying power to place the order at the time
  • The bank transfer to your account for your order failed
  • A technical error occurred
Are all securities on Robinhood eligible for recurring investments?

Generally, securities that have a share price of over $1 and a market cap of $25 million or more are eligible for recurring investments. However, there are some exceptions.

We currently don't support recurring investments for the following types of securities:

Inverse exchange-traded products

Inverse exchange-traded funds (ETFs) and inverse exchange-traded notes (ETNs) are designed to track the inverse of a set of stocks or underlying indexes—the idea being that when those stocks fall in price, the inverse ETF or ETN will rise in price.

Inverse exchange-traded products are designed for short-term trading. Most of them reset daily or within a short time period and, as a result, are meant to be held and sold on a daily basis.

Leveraged exchange-traded products

Leveraged ETFs and ETNs use borrowed funds and other financial products (like options contracts) to try to magnify the returns of the index they track. Because the tools used to create the leveraged ETF or ETN are typically short-term tools (for example, most options contracts have short-term expiration dates), holding one of these products as a long-term investment would have returns that are quite different from the underlying index they track.

Like inverse ETPs, leveraged exchange-traded products are designed to be used as short-term trading vehicles. Most of them reset daily or within a short time period and, as a result, are meant to be held and sold on a daily basis. As a result, Robinhood doesn't support recurring investments in them.

Volatility exchange-traded products

Volatility ETPs track volatility in the market. Volatility is generally associated with uncertainty or fear because a highly volatile market is often one that is losing value. Many of these products track the Chicago Board Options Exchange’s (CBOE) Volatility Index, also known as VIX or the “fear index.”

Because volatility ETPs reset daily or within a short time period, they’re meant to be held and sold on a daily basis, so Robinhood doesn't support recurring investments in them.

Pre-IPO instruments

We currently don’t support recurring investments for pre-IPO instruments because investing in a pre-IPO instrument means you’re taking part in the company’s IPO in the primary market (where securities are created) before the instrument trades on the secondary market (where investors trade the security). If you’d like to set up a recurring investment in a newly-listed stock, wait until the first day of trading to do so.

Securities that aren't tradable

Securities might not be tradable for a number of reasons. For example, when a security is in a trading halt because of a corporate action, it might be illiquid (meaning it’s hard to find a buyer or seller), might be delisted (meaning it no longer trades anywhere), or might have a wider spread during extended hours.

Securities that don’t support fractional shares

Recurring investments use dollar-based orders to automatically purchase fractional shares of a stock or ETF. However, fractional trading isn't available for certain securities, so we can’t offer recurring investments in those securities. Fractional trading is also sometimes temporarily unavailable for certain securities because of things like corporate actions, which are events that a company initiates that change its stock somehow. You can track the most recent corporate actions in the Corporate actions tracker.

Position-closing only securities

Securities that are position-closing only can’t be bought on Robinhood. Securities are set to position-closing only for a number of reasons based on the situation. For example, a security might be set to position-closing only in response to operational changes or government action.

Recurring crypto orders

How does the timing of a crypto recurring order work?

Crypto recurring orders are typically processed around 5:30-7 PM ET each day.

How does pricing for a crypto recurring order work?

To fill recurring crypto orders in a fair way, our system aims to place all recurring crypto orders for a certain coin at around the same time.

To figure out how much crypto you’ll receive for your recurring order, divide your order amount by the price per coin at the time your order executed.

Example

If Robinhood Crypto customers have set up 4 recurring orders in BTC, then our system would send all 4 BTC orders to market at around the same time. We do this in hopes of ensuring that all Robinhood Crypto customers who created a recurring order for BTC get their orders filled at around the same price.

Why did I receive less than my recurring order amount?

To help protect against dramatic price moves, crypto recurring orders are placed as limit orders collared up to 1% above the last trade price. This means that your order may fill for less than your chosen dollar amount. When that happens, the difference is returned to your crypto buying power.

If the price of the crypto moves more than 1% higher than its price when your order is placed, your order won’t fill and will be skipped. In the following example, this would happen if BTC was trading at $55,000 at the time your order would have executed. Robinhood Crypto will let you know when this happens and you’ll never be charged more than your chosen dollar amount.

Example

Imagine that BTC is trading at $55,000 per coin, and you have a crypto recurring order for $55,000 of BTC each week. To protect against situations where the price of BTC increases significantly between order placement and order execution, we’ll send your recurring order as a limit order for $54,900 BTC at a price of $55,100 per coin. In short, this means that your recurring BTC order won’t execute for more than $$55,000, but it may execute for less than $$55,000. If BTC is still trading at $$55,000 when your order executes, you’ll receive $54,900 BTC. The remaining $100 will be returned to your crypto buying power.

Why was my crypto recurring order paused or skipped?

There are several reasons why your crypto recurring order might get paused automatically:

  • The bank transfer to your investing account for your recurring order was reversed—this sometimes happens if the bank account has insufficient funds
  • The bank account you chose for your primary payment method was unlinked
  • The crypto at the time the order would’ve been placed has a trading restriction on it
  • Your brokerage account was set to position-closing only, meaning you couldn't place buy orders

A recurring order also might be automatically skipped for these reasons:

  • You didn’t have enough crypto buying power to place the order at the time
  • The bank transfer to your investing account for your order failed
  • You have a margin-enabled investing account and placing the crypto order would have brought your brokerage account under the $2,000 minimum required for margin investing
  • A technical error occurred
Are all crypto eligible?

Yes, you can create a recurring order for all the coins offered on Robinhood Crypto.

Why can’t I set up a recurring crypto order?

First, try making sure your app is updated with the latest version.

Otherwise, this happens when you live in a state where Robinhood Crypto isn’t available. Robinhood Crypto is currently available in every US state, the US Virgin Islands, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia. We have a growing number of crypto available to trade.

Disclosures

All investments involve risk and loss of principal is possible. Investors should consider their investment objectives and risks carefully before investing.

Recurring investments don't ensure a profit or guarantee against loss. Not all securities on Robinhood are eligible for recurring investments. Recurring investments may result in a purchase of fractional shares or coins. Fractional shares of equities are illiquid outside of Robinhood and aren't transferable. For a complete explanation of conditions, restrictions and limitations associated with fractional shares, review our Customer Agreement.

Investors should consider the investment objectives, risks, and charges and expenses of any ETF before investing. The prospectus and, if available, the summary prospectus contain this and other information about the ETF and should be read carefully before investing. Customers can visit the relevant ETF’s details page to access a link to the prospectus.

This isn't investment advice or a recommendation of any security or crypto, transaction, account type, or investment strategy involving securities.

Securities trading is offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, Member SIPC, a registered broker-dealer, and a subsidiary of Robinhood Markets, Inc. (“Robinhood”).

Crypto trading is offered through an account with Robinhood Crypto. Robinhood Crypto isn't a member of FINRA or SIPC. Crypto isn't a security, and crypto trading isn't FDIC insured or SIPC protected.

Trading in crypto comes with significant risks, including volatile market price swings or flash crashes, market manipulation, and cybersecurity risks. In addition, crypto markets and exchanges aren't regulated with the same controls or customer protections available in equity, option, futures, or foreign exchange investing. Several federal agencies have also published advisory documents regarding the risks of virtual currency. For more information, review the Robinhood Crypto Risk Disclosure, the CFPB's Consumer Advisory, the CFTC’s Customer Advisory, the SEC’s Investor Alert, and FINRA’s Investor Alert.

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All investing involves risk.

Brokerage services are offered through Robinhood Financial LLC, (“RHF”) a registered broker dealer (member SIPC), and clearing services through Robinhood Securities, LLC, (“RHS”) a registered broker dealer (member SIPC).

Cryptocurrency services are offered through an account with Robinhood Crypto, LLC (“RHC”) (NMLS ID: 1702840). Robinhood Crypto is licensed to engage in virtual currency business activity by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Please review a list of RHC's licenses for more information. Cryptocurrency held through Robinhood Crypto is not FDIC insured or SIPC protected.

The Robinhood spending account is offered through Robinhood Money, LLC (“RHY”) (NMLS ID: 1990968), a licensed money transmitter. Please review a list of our licenses for more information.

The Robinhood Cash Card is a prepaid card issued by Sutton Bank, Member FDIC, pursuant to a license from Mastercard® International Incorporated. Mastercard and the circles design are registered trademarks of Mastercard International Incorporated.

Robinhood Gold Card is subject to credit approval and underwriting. Robinhood Gold Card is offered by Robinhood Credit, Inc., and is issued by Coastal Community Bank, pursuant to a license from Visa U.S.A. Inc. Robinhood Credit, Inc. (“RCT”), is a financial technology company, not a bank.

Robinhood Gold is a subscription-based membership program of premium services offered through Robinhood Gold, LLC (“RHG”).

RHF, RHY, RHC, RCT, RHG, and RHS are affiliated entities and wholly owned subsidiaries of Robinhood Markets, Inc. RHF, RHY, RHC, RCT, RHG, and RHS are not banks. Investing products offered by RHF are not FDIC insured and involve risk, including possible loss of principal.

RHY is not a member of FINRA, and products are not subject to SIPC protection, but funds held in the Robinhood spending account and Robinhood Cash Card account may be eligible for FDIC pass-through insurance (review the Robinhood Cash Card Agreement and the Robinhood Spending Account Agreement).

Options trading entails significant risk and is not appropriate for all customers. Customers must read and understand the Characteristics and Risks of Standardized Options before engaging in any options trading strategies. Options transactions are often complex and may involve the potential of losing the entire investment in a relatively short period of time. Certain complex options strategies carry additional risk, including the potential for losses that may exceed the original investment amount.

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Robinhood, 85 Willow Road, Menlo Park, CA 94025.© 2024 Robinhood. All rights reserved.