Covestor and CVIM Blog

New Feature: Live Feed!

Today we put up the first of a number of  Community features to be introduced over the next month or so  - a 'live feed' of all activity relevant to you.

The feature appears on the 'My Summary' page, and will give you a better view of all of the activity relating to you and your track list.

Currently the feed notifies you of:

    - Trade alerts: of members you are tracking
    - Rationales posted: and comments made in response
    - Tracking updates: Members who start or stop tracking your portfolio

Keep an eye out on the blog over the next few days - we will keep you informed as we build out the community features,  and as we add to the list of elements on the feed.

Minor Site Updates: Member Suggested

We have made a few changes to the site recently, some of which you may have already noticed, in response to feedback from members. Please keep this coming as there have been some great ideas, and our updates will continue to be led by your suggestions. Recent changes include:

• Sortable Holdings Tables: Click on the arrow next to the title of any column on a holdings table to sort the table by that column:

• Ability to Post Comments Across The Web: If you have a 'public' investment record you can post/tag your Holding Rationale from Covestor to a range of sites across the web including Facebook, Digg and Del.icio.us:      

• Clearer Chart Colours: A couple of members had difficulty distinguishing colours on the performance charts so these have changed to clearer red line for the member and blue for the benchmark:
• Better Page Navigation: When you start tracking a member you are taken straight to the 'replicate' page to see what holdings you would need to have to replicate their holdings at that point in time, and when you edit your Fact Sheet you get taken straight to the updated Fact Sheet.

Keep the feedback coming - your input is greatly appreciated!

TradeStation Enabled For Automatic Import

From today anyone with a TradeStation account can sign up to Covestor using the 'Automatic Data Import' feature to create a view only data link. All trades and holdings will be automatically reported on execution from TradeStation, to build a verified investment record.

We will shortly be adding Zecco and Interactive Brokers to the list of supported brokers, which already includes E*Trade, Fidelity, Schwab, Scottrade and Ameritrade. Anyone without a supported broker can still sign up today and enter trades manually by selecting the 'manual' trade entry option in registration.

New Feature: Comparative Charting

Today we put live a new feature allowing members to play with charts to view performance against a range of comparisons. Rather than just comparing a members performance vs their chosen benchmark you can now use a drop down to compare their performance to any benchmark, to yourself or to any other members that you are tracking.

Click on the drop down next to the charts to evaluate your own or another members performance. We will soon be adding further comparisons such as the ability to compare performance to professionals - watch out Fidelity...

New Feature: Member Invitations

Following a number of feedback requests from members we have just launched the capability for members to issue invitation codes to friends or colleagues they deem to be qualified, proven self-investors.

Each existing member initially has two membership invitations. To send these out, and to track those you have already sent, go to MyAccount/Settings/Invitations. As ever let us know your thoughts...

New Feature: Live Site Demo

Since going into public beta we have had a number of requests for an overview of site functionality and for access to demo accounts. Yesterday we therefore posted a new flash demo. It offers a tour of the site and highlights the key featutres and terminology on Covestor.

This is a large file and so will take time to load, particularly if you have a slow connection. Let us know if you are unable to access it or have feedback on aspects you think we could still help to clarify. Enjoy!

Click here to see the Live Site Demo

New Feature: Manual trade entry

Another milestone was reached today on the Covestor site as the manual trade entry process was uploaded to the live site. Members can now choose whether to use the data link to their broker, to automatically populate their track record, or enter trades by hand.

The form is very easy to use. When setting up an account to use the manual process members send in an electronic copy of their last broker statement to verify their starting holdings. Covestor enters these holdings for them in their accounts before activation. From there each new trade or holding is entered manually by the member - giving them control over the management of the data, and statements are requested periodically to confirm the holdings registered. All track records using this new data entry process are stamped on the site as 'manual', as distinct from 'auto verified' accounts (those using the broker link).

Let us know if you have any feedback for us as you test and use the new form. A number of beta testers have requested this functionality, both given brokers not yet supported with an automatic link and the inability with the connection to separate out individual accounts. Although more work in uploading data, this feature should broden the spectrum of members able/willing to share their investment decisions.

New Feature: Widgets

Covestor widgets were put live today and they just look awesome (although of course we are biased).

This is my investment record widget to let me distribute a summary of my portfolio and let others track my trades.

Features: Automatic data upload

Although we are still pre launch we have already received a large number of questions from our Alpha users about the automatic broker link. We thought it might be useful to clarify some of the detail:

• What it is: At Covestor we wanted to make it as easy as possible to upload trades and holdings and to give other users confidence that the track records created are verified and objective (uniquely on the web). As such we work with Yodlee to give users the option of having their track record automatically updated whenever they execute a new trade in their existing broker account. At launch this connection will be enabled to all of the major brokers. (Clever stuff)
• How does it work: On sign up Covestor creates a ‘view only’ data connection to the users broker account and essentially polls the account at regular intervals to check for updates. It saves you having to enter details of each trade by hand when you do them, or to send us regular statements to verify the positions you report (The other option available)
• Security: Users have to enter their broker username and password to create this data feed from their broker. We realise this is extremely sensitive data. As such here is some more detail on the connection:
  • The credentials are only used to create a ‘view only’ feed: The users broker username and password are only used to create a direct feed of data into their Covestor track record. It is similar to the connection created when one downloads trading data from a broker account into MSN Money or Quicken.
  • This data is not stored by Covestor: The data is securely stored on the Yodlee servers. Yodlee store this same data on behalf of over 100 financial institutions in the US: http://corporate.yodlee.com/customers/clients.htm. Yodlee’s security meets industry standards such as SAS 70 Type II, ISO 17799 Compliance, and Visa CISP Level One Compliance.
        
  
  • Transaction and account values are never published: A number of users told us that       they did not want to disclose their investment amounts or portfolio value to protect their privacy. As such all of the data created by the ‘view only’ connection is reported in percentage terms.

We think this is a valuable feature to save you time and effort, and to ensure the creation of a full and unbiased track record. It allows you to create an immediate and fully audited trading history. Let us know if you happy to share your experience using it to help give other users the confidence to give it a try.