With Hatch, you own your shares, and they're held safely for you to access when you want.
You own your shares and have voting rights
Hatch doesn’t hold your shares. We provide access to the US share markets through a US regulated broker-dealer, DriveWealth.
Your shares are held in "street name" as 'Drive Wealth for the benefit of customers'. This is standard practice in the US, although there are also other options. Holding securities in street name means you have full shareholder rights.
Citi (Citigroup Inc) is custodian of your shares and is headquartered in New York City.
Your non-invested money is held in a low-risk Money Market Fund
Any non-invested money in your Hatch account will be automatically swept into a Money Market Fund with Dreyfus BNY Mellon, which is a common practice in the US. You can find their prospectus in our terms and conditions. The purpose of using a Money Market Fund is to provide a low-risk method of maintaining your Hatch account balance, and you may even receive some dividends.
Any dividends will appear in your account at the beginning of the month. The transaction will show up as 'MONEY MARKET FUND [DATE] DIVIDEND'.
What happens to my shares if DriveWealth or Hatch goes under?
In the case of US broker insolvency (DriveWealth, Citi), there are protections in place in the US, such as Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC), which insures each customer account for up to $500,000 USD (with a maximum of $250,000 USD in cash).
If Hatch's financial circumstances change and we need to close, you still own your shares, and they will still be held by DriveWealth (we can’t touch your shares). Should this happen, our team will be committed to helping you with whatever you decide to do next, whether it’s moving to another broker, or selling up and withdrawing your money.