*

Robinhood's Quirk says volume of trades is increasing

rapidly

outside market hours

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Robinhood sees wealth management as a big growth

opportunity

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Retail trading helped market rebound after selloff, Quirk

says

(Adds quotes from Quirk in paragraphs 12-15)

By Ateev Bhandari and Anirban Sen

NEW YORK, June 5 (Reuters) - Robinhood

executive Steve Quirk on Thursday credited retail investors with

helping the market rebound after a sharp plunge in April, adding

that young self-directed traders were increasingly making trades

outside traditional hours.

His comments come after the market turmoil that followed

U.S. President Donald Trump's announcement of sweeping tariffs

on April 2.

"This is the second occurrence where I would argue retail

came to the rescue of the market. COVID (was) probably the

first," said Quirk, Robinhood's chief brokerage officer, at the

Piper Sandler Global Exchange & Trading Conference in New York.

Retail investors have evolved into a notable market force

since the GameStop short-squeeze of 2021, buying $4.7 billion in

stocks on April 3, the highest level over the past decade,

according to JPMorgan estimates.

This was a day after Trump launched his erratic tit-for-tat

tariff campaign, which roiled markets worldwide, scuttled

dealmaking, and dampened consumer sentiment.

Another way retail investors are changing the markets is

through overnight trading, which is growing in popularity as

global demand for U.S. stocks surges.

Robinhood's users, especially those in their 30s, "do the

research and homework in the evening," and expect to be able to

make trades whenever they wish, Quirk said on Thursday.

Trading volume outside traditional hours has also spiked

sharply as a tumultuous period of U.S. policy in recent months

has kept markets on edge. There have often been steep selloffs

in after-hours trading if Trump announced material pivots on

trade policy late in the day.

Robinhood estimates up to a quarter of its total daily

trading volume on its busiest days comes from outside

traditional market hours. May was the biggest month at the

company for overnight trading, by volume, according to Quirk.

"You will look back in a couple years and laugh at the

notion that we waited until 9:30 Eastern for trading to start,"

said Quirk.

Robinhood and competitor Interactive Brokers ( IBKR ) have

offered overnight trading for limited equities over the past few

years.

"May was the biggest month we've ever had (on overnight

trading volumes). All the news is happening when the market's

closed. So, if I wait till the next morning to react, I'm behind

the eight ball - we already have asset classes that trade around

the clock," said Quirk.

Robinhood is also preparing to double down on the business

of wealth management, at a time when financial advisers are

locked in a race to arm wealthy clients with better data in

volatile markets.

"There's a $124 trillion transfer of wealth happening right

now. People are living longer today, which is a good thing...So

we have the recipients of that wealth sitting at profit, 26

million customers that are in the accumulation phase of wealth,"

said Quirk.

"They're actually starting to get in their prime earnings,

and they're going to be recipients of much of this. Advisers

want access to establish a relationship with them. That's what

we're building, a referral program that connects those two," he

added.