How many users does etrade have

But embracing social could leverage some of its strongest assets: the youthfulness of its user base and the depth of connection to its users.

Being able to turn to friends or experts within the app might convince them to pull the trigger on trades. Unsatisfied users could bail for a competitor at any time. When helping people group their investment ideas, it was easy to envision this as a playlist you might find on your favorite music app. Offering social validation for trading could help Robinhood earn more from its customers despite their small total account balances.

Subscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox. Editing by Rob Cox and Amanda Gomez. More from Reuters. Sign up for our newsletter Subscribe for our daily curated newsletter to receive the latest exclusive Reuters coverage delivered to your inbox. Sign up. That has helped depress E-Trade's stock price and gave it motivation to give up on independence. Gorman, who has been astute with prior takeovers, is likely betting that he will gain more by serving mom and pop investors than he will lose.

Skip Navigation. Key Points. This push to work with households of all kinds is not unlike similar moves by firms outside the financial services arena. Amazon, for example, started out as an online book retailer and has since expanded to sell a wide array of consumer goods. Digital technology has helped usher in a dramatic shift among financial services firms, which can leverage the technology to reach everyday investors more profitably and also get a better view of overall household finances — not just investments, but others areas such as debt.

That helps firms serve as a sort of one-stop-shop for consumers' financial needs, analysts said. Robo-advisors like Betterment and Wealthfront that rose to prominence in the early part of the last decade use algorithms to manage money for investors more cheaply.

Giants like Vanguard Group and Charles Schwab have since seized on the trend and meshed robo-advisors into their traditional financial-advice operations.