Robinhood’s venture fund, which gives investors access to private companies, tanks 11% on first day

Robinhood’s Venture Fund I It lost 11 percent in its public debut on the New York Stock Exchange on Friday, casting doubt on investors’ appetite for risky investments amid rising geopolitical tensions.

Traded under the ticker symbol RVI, the fund offers access to important private companies such as financial services company Revolut and software company Databricks. The app aims to democratize access to the capital markets space, which is often inaccessible to retail investors, Robinhood CEO Vlad Tenev told CNBC’s “Squawk on the Street” on Friday.

“You have companies that are valued in the hundreds of billions, or even reaching trillions in private markets before retail investors have a chance to come in, and that’s happening more and more,” Tenev said. “We’re trying to solve this not just by opening the door to private markets, but by completely ripping them off their hinges so they never close again.”

Individual investors can buy and sell shares of the closed-end fund, which is structured like an investment company, just like shares of a traditional company.

But the launch comes at a difficult time for public markets. Major US stock averages are on a weekly downward trend as investors sell stocks on fears that the US-Iran conflict could last longer than expected.

Robinhood Ventures Fund priced its initial public offering at $25 per share. It opened at $22 and dropped to a low of $21 before trading around $22.12.

RVI closed Friday at $21 per share.