How the meme stock craze changed trading-platform operations

While regulations have been slow to react to the meme stock craze—and while, worryingly, trading platforms told lawmakers that many of their fundamental operations for meeting collateral requirements will stay the same—some key components to trading-platform ops have fundamentally changed over the past two years.

Revamped communications

Robinhood’s reputational hit is a clear precedent and warning. The platform had to dedicate major resources to stanch the damage from its decision to halt trading on key meme stocks—including mass-emailed apologies to its users as well as testimony before Congress.

With Robinhood as a bellwether, trading platforms have invested heavily in content-creation as well as crisis-management pipelines. Through clear warnings that flag particularly risky investments, as well as blog content aiming to inform users and help them mature how they engage with investment vehicles, platforms see clear language as a way to both mitigate the risk of future crazes while also shoring up users’ knowledge and wealth-building strategies. 

Expanded product offerings

Trading platforms have grown the number of investment vehicles available to retail traders—from options, to crypto, treasury bills, and beyond. This move, part of a larger effort to encourage traders to diversify their portfolios, has diversified these platforms’ staffing and tech talent in turn.

From experts in blockchain technologies to backend engineers with experience interfacing with government securities, a wider range of fintech leaders and builders now make up the ranks of these platforms’ workforces.

Fluctuating staffing needs

But many of these features also have to contend with waxing and waning public-market interest. Treasury bills are popular right now, for example, but may soon see demand drop off if interest rates fall. With that in mind, platforms have to navigate the volatile nature of staffing or contractor work that comes with building out and maintaining these features. 

Much of the tech talent that these platforms retain as full-time employees can work on building out a variety of products, but the decision to import tech leaders on a project basis for certain kinds of investment vehicles can be a double-edged sword. On the one hand, formal transience through contractor work can help platforms cut costs. But on the other hand—depending on the contract—these workers can then move on to building similar products for different competitors, which can ultimately benefit the average retail trader through greater choice, but can leave platforms fairly homogeneous without major product differentiation.