SOPA Images/Getty Images
Helen Lu, an Instagram influencer, tells her followers that retirement accounts are more important than Robinhood.
She touts the advantages of boring investing such as index funds and 401 (k)s.
In an Aug. 5, post, she stated that index fund investing has made many millionaires.
A millennial influencer, who calls herself "Money Minimalist", says that her followers should abandon Robinhood and instead focus on long-term investments like retirement accounts.
Fortune spoke with Helen Lu, a 27-year old influencer. She said that Robinhood has more people interested in investing and is "great."
She said, "But if someone would prefer to set up that app over their 401(k), then I tell them delete the app."
Lu explained to Insider via Instagram that Robinhood was not designed to make investing feel like gambling.
Robinhood was under fire for its gamification of investing, as retail traders joined the markets in large numbers amid the COVID-19 pandemic. Vlad Tenev, the chief of Robinhood, said that it has made investing simpler for everyone.
Robinhood's digital confetti was removed by the company in March after it came under fire for using game-like features at a congressional hearing. This followed the GameStop scandal. Robinhood did not immediately reply to Insider's request to comment on the story.
According to Fidelity's previous report, the craze surrounding meme stocks such as GameStop has attracted younger investors to the stock market. These investors now turn to social media to learn how to invest.
Lu has 16,000 Instagram fans and takes a more traditional approach when it comes to investing. This is in contrast to many financial influencers who teach momentum trades and speculative investing.
In one example, she advised teens to open a roth IRA and research index funds. She also suggested that they keep their investments for the long-term. In her Aug. 5 post, she stated that index fund investing has made many millionaires.
Buy and Hold. Long-term investing. Fortune told her that boring growth is better for them than exciting loss.
Insider received messages from her stating that she uses Vanguard index funds and recommends "The Simple Path to Wealth" (J L Collins) for anyone who wants to invest. She also spoke highly of the benefits of retirement accounts such as a 401(k).
She stated that you can reduce your taxable income and pay less taxes while also receiving an employer-sponsored benefit. Robinhood is not the place to do that.
Continue reading: A complete guide to the top 10 altcoins, including their real-world applications and why crypto investors believe their technology is the future.
