Updated 20 June 2020 at 04:44 IST
20-year-old man commits suicide after seeing negative ₹5.5 Cr balance on trading account
Alexander Kearns was a student at Nebraska University and had taken to trading during the pandemic.
- World News
- 2 min read
A 20-year-old trader died by suicide earlier this week after his stock trading account on Robinhood reflected a massive negative balance, as per the family's statement. Alexander Kearns was a student at Nebraska University and had taken to trading during the pandemic. As per reports, a note on his desk questioned how a boy his age could have such a big debt.
A massive debt
“How was a 20-year-old with no income able to get assigned almost a million dollars worth of leverage? There was no intention to be assigned this much and take this much risk, and I only thought that I was risking the money that I actually owed," read the note as quoted by an international media outlet. It is understood that Kearns was shocked on seeing a negative balance of $730,165 on his account and decided to take the unfortunate step.
As per reports, Kearns had begun experimenting with trading options and his final note said he had "no clue" what he was doing. Reports suggest that Kearns' negative balance on the app may not have represented debt but temporary balance until the purchased stocks settled into his account
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After the incident, the brokerage firm Robinhood has issued a statement mentioning how they are working towards improving the application and their service. The founders of the application also stated that they will be donating to the American Foundation for Suicide Prevention.
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The Robinhood statement read, "Over the past week, our team at Robinhood has been focused on identifying how we can improve Robinhood’s customer experience, specifically around our option flows involving multi-leg exercise and assignment."
Robinhood added that they will be making three changes to their service in terms of eligibility, educational response, and user interface. The statement mentioned it will include expanding educational content on the app related to options trading.
Published By : Digital Desk
Published On: 20 June 2020 at 04:44 IST