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(Bloomberg) — Robinhood Markets Inc. is launching a closed-end fund to give US retail investors exposure to private companies.
The retail-trading platform said it filed an initial registration statement with the Securities and Exchange Commission, beginning the process to offer public shares of the fund, dubbed Robinhood Ventures Fund I, according to a statement Monday.
With many companies staying private for longer and valuations skyrocketing, retail investors have largely been stuck on the sidelines with few ways to tap into that kind of growth.
“For decades, wealthy people and institutions have invested in private companies while retail investors have been unfairly locked out,” Chief Executive Officer Vlad Tenev said in the statement. “With Robinhood Ventures, everyday people will be able to invest in opportunities once reserved for the elite.”
Robinhood has recently prioritized giving retail investors access to traditionally restricted private equity. In June, the Menlo Park, California-based firm said it would offer tokenized equities in Europe and, as a sign-up bonus, a limited giveaway of equity “tokens” for the closely held companies OpenAI and SpaceX. The tokens triggered a swift rebuke from OpenAI at the time.
Read More: Robinhood’s Private Stock Tokens Lure Investors, Draw Scrutiny
The new fund will focus on investing in “a concentrated portfolio of private companies at the frontiers of their respective industries,” the firm said. Pending SEC approval, shares of the fund will be traded under the symbol RVI on the New York Stock Exchange, available to retail investors via brokerages such as Robinhood and its competitors.
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