Vlad Tenev details the improvements made to his trading platform during the Chamber hearing.
Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev apologized to the family of Alex Kearns, the young client who committed suicide last year after encountering catastrophic business problems, during part of his testimony in Congress on Thursday about the frenzy of GameStop trends.
“I am sorry to Mr. Kearns’s family for his loss. Mr. Kearns’s passing was deeply disturbing to me and the entire company,” said Tenev in response to a question. The company had previously issued a statement about his death.
ROBINHOOD, REDDIT, CITADEL CEOS TESTIFY IN GAMESTOP AUDING
The Kearns family is suing Robinhood, claiming that the 20-year-old student at the University of Nebraska-Lincoln mistakenly thought he owed more than $ 700,000 on a risky option bet.
Beidelman-Kunsch funeral home and crematorium
“Robinhood not only allowed Alex to open an account, but when Alex was a freshman in college later that year, he allowed him to trade options. These options had the potential for him to be forced to pay for more than $ 700,000 in bonds, a amount he couldn’t afford. Worse, Robinhood hardly provided investment guidance and his ‘customer service’ was virtually nonexistent, consisting of automated email responses without any human contact or interaction, “according to the revised complaint. by FOX Business.
THE NEXT GAMESTOP COULD GIVE ME ONE OF THESE STOCKS
Filed last month in the California state court in Santa Clara County, it seeks unspecified damages on behalf of Kearns’ parents and sister for manslaughter, negligent imposition of emotional suffering and unfair business practices.
Tenev was also pressured about what the company did to avoid similar lapses.
CLICK HERE TO READ MORE ABOUT FOX BUSINESS
“There have been several improvements, one of which has been added to the ability to exercise instantly, as well as exercise option positions in the app. We clarified the display of purchasing power, specifically negative purchasing power in situations where a leg of a complex multi-step option transaction was assigned. We’ve also added options education specialists and we’ve also added live customer support over the phone for acute options cases, ”he explained.
CHARLES SCHWAB CEO: NO RESTRICTED STOCKS AS OTHERS DO
Robinhood and other companies were summoned on social media during times of extreme negotiations during long waiting periods for customer service representatives, which included the height of pandemic market volatility last March, as well as last month during the GameStop chaos.
[Editor’s note: This story discusses suicide. If you or someone you know is having thoughts of suicide, please contact the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline at 1-800-273-TALK (8255)]