You know the name Robinhood, but do you know the story of "Q"? Steve Quirk, the company’s Chief Brokerage Officer, has a career arc that few possess. Starting in the chaotic, open-outcry pits of Chicago and migrating through every major retail brokerage innovation (from Thinkorswim to the current era of commission-free apps), his career is a timeline of financial technology.
In this Q&A, Quirk/Q shares the story behind his distinctive nickname, details Robinhoods’ strategy for leveraging artificial intelligence to democratize finance and explains the factors driving the explosive adoption of futures trading among everyday investors.
Our conversation has been edited for brevity and clarity. The full interview can be found here.
You started on the trading floor and are now Chief Brokerage Officer at Robinhood. How did your journey take you from the pits to the C-suite of a global broker?
It’s a bit of a unique journey, since I’ve had the luxury to understand the full path of an investment.
Most people call me Q, a nickname that originated on the CME trading floor in 1987 – the week of the stock market crash. My last name is Quirk, and my trading acronym was I.M.Q. I began my career as a floor trader in the S&P options pit, putting me next to the very epicenter of market volatility during the '87 event.
I transitioned to retail brokerage with the highly disruptive Thinkorswim, and we rapidly gained traction and the attention of larger brokers at the time. Through subsequent industry changes and acquisitions by TD Ameritrade and Schwab, I began to miss a fast-moving environment where I could have a quick, direct impact on customers. That’s what drove my move to Robinhood.
What are the biggest mistakes a new retail trader makes, and how important is education?
I think the biggest issue that a lot of new customers have is they put too much in one trade or one investment. And if it moves against them, it is very tough for them emotionally to not have this myopic fixation on it and make a poor decision. The other thing that we really have always preached is to come up with your plan before you do anything and stick to that plan. I can tell you, when you get in the middle of it you're going to want to change your plan, and the changes you make could be detrimental to you.
I think from an education standpoint, I’ve always been so passionate about it because our industry isn’t always the best at welcoming new participants. If you ask someone when a person should start investing, they usually say the sooner the better, but it can be intimidating without education.
Robinhood's launch of futures has been incredibly successful. What drove the decision to make that product offering?
It was one of the most frequently requested asset classes, and the beauty of it is 24/5 trading – the ability to react to market-moving news when it's happening. The launch coincided with the launch of our desktop platform, Robinhood Legend, and we’ve seen strong adoption of futures on Legend. To your point, the launch has been explosive – it took us about six months to get to the trading volume that took five years in my time at TD Ameritrade.
Ultimately, our aim is to deliver products in the format that our customers need so they can have the most access and success.
Robinhood announced Cortex, which has an AI element, at the Hood Summit. How might AI help retail traders?
Since I started in the business in the 80s, the field has never been more level. Back then, the divergence cost structure was low for me as a pro and much higher for a retail customer. Today, customers have access to the same information and technology as the pros.
The next iteration, with tools like Robinhood Cortex, is about leveling the playing field even more. Most people aren't algorithmic traders and can't write scripting language. If we can help them identify trends or perform complex analysis using voice or text commands, we're further reducing barriers. It’s not just AI trading robots though. Many people who are active in investing actually enjoy doing it – they don't necessarily want an AI robot trading for them; they still want a hand in it, but they will take all the help they can get.
Prediction markets are a growing trend. How do you view them?
They are a really interesting instrument for a number of reasons. They cover a vast range of events, from economic data releases (e.g., CPI, Fed rate decisions) to cultural, sports and elections. I think there is also a timeliness aspect – everybody looks at polls, but when there’s money behind the outcomes, they can offer a valuable source of information. For the investor, they provide a way to express a precise thesis on a single event, like when there's a Fed cut. There's either a Fed cut or there is not.
Looking ahead, what excites you most about the future of the retail trading space?
What excites me most is the continued growth in the percentage of retail participation across every asset class, whether futures, options, equities, ETFs or crypto. People are increasingly looking to take control of their own finances.
I actually think the best world we're ever going to get to is one where your finances are sort of your career. Think about the days when you worked for a company and you had a 401K – that's not the company's money, that's yours. In my opinion, your investable assets should be something that you carry around with you and make work for you. I think people are savvy enough to get to that point, and it gives them agency to choose what they want to do.
OpenMarkets is an online magazine and blog focused on global markets and economic trends. It combines feature articles, news briefs and videos with contributions from leaders in business, finance and economics in an interactive forum designed to foster conversation around the issues and ideas shaping our industry.
All examples are hypothetical interpretations of situations and are used for explanation purposes only. The views expressed in OpenMarkets articles reflect solely those of their respective authors and not necessarily those of CME Group or its affiliated institutions. OpenMarkets and the information herein should not be considered investment advice or the results of actual market experience. Neither futures trading nor swaps trading are suitable for all investors, and each involves the risk of loss. Swaps trading should only be undertaken by investors who are Eligible Contract Participants (ECPs) within the meaning of Section 1a(18) of the Commodity Exchange Act. Futures and swaps each are leveraged investments and, because only a percentage of a contract’s value is required to trade, it is possible to lose more than the amount of money deposited for either a futures or swaps position. Therefore, traders should only use funds that they can afford to lose without affecting their lifestyles and only a portion of those funds should be devoted to any one trade because traders cannot expect to profit on every trade. BrokerTec Americas LLC (“BAL”) is a registered broker-dealer with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission, is a member of the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority, Inc. (www.FINRA.org), and is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (www.SIPC.org). BAL does not provide services to private or retail customers.. In the United Kingdom, BrokerTec Europe Limited is authorised and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority. CME Amsterdam B.V. is regulated in the Netherlands by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM) (www.AFM.nl). CME Investment Firm B.V. is also incorporated in the Netherlands and regulated by the Dutch Authority for the Financial Markets (AFM), as well as the Central Bank of the Netherlands (DNB).
