On May 1st, we soft-launched the Urvin platform. No more whitelist, no more waiting, no more walls. Now, you can explore Urvin, have fun with our features, and tinker with our tickers—no need to create an account.

But…there is a lot to be said for creating an account. Why?  Because on May 1st, we also launched our Verified Shareholder Communities (VSC). 

So today, we wanted to take a moment to explain VSCs. What are they, how do they work, and why should you care?

Let’s get right to it 👇

What are Verified Shareholder Communities (VSCs)?

Verified Shareholder Communities are communities made up of individual investors with positions in specific securities. So, for instance…

How do VSCs work?

Verified Shareholder Communities are made possible by connected portfolios. You can connect your brokerage account via our partners SnapTrade and Mesh. (We’re working on adding others).

Connecting your portfolio to your Urvin account unlocks VSCs for stocks you own. It also creates access to a more personalized platform experience. 

Connecting your portfolio is free, easy, and totally secure. The platform supports most brokerages (and we’re always working on adding more). Once you’ve connected your portfolio, we can confirm: 

• That you’re an actual person (as opposed to a bot); and 

• That you own shares of specific stocks.

Once we confirm these details, you are officially verified. You remain anonymous, but you’ll have the ability to actively engage in corresponding verified communities. 

Why should you care?

Short answer—robots. Social media is overrun by bots. It makes it difficult to know who you’re really dealing with out there. This condition is a genuine impediment to issuer-shareholder engagement. 

We are more wired and connected than ever before. And still, issuers struggle to engage shareholders, encourage proxy voting, and court active retail investors. Shareholders struggle to be heard, to influence the process, to participate in the governance of the companies they invest in. 

We’re cutting through the noise and bypassing the bots by verifying shareholders, and creating a forum for active engagement with issuers, and with one another. So in short, if your goal is to become a more active, informed, and engaged investor, our VSCs are for you. 

FAQ

With that said, we know you have plenty of questions. Below, we try to anticipate and address just a few:

How can I join a Verified Shareholder Community?

Connect your brokerage account. Our automated system does the rest. Once you connect your portfolio, you will be added to any related ticker communities you hold in your connected accounts. 

Can I opt out of a VSC?

Yes. You can choose to opt out of any VSC at any time; and you can rejoin at any time as long as your account remains connected, and you still have holdings associated with the related ticker community. 

What happens if I sell the securities from my connected portfolio? Am I still a member of the VSC?

No. The system cross-references your holdings and VSC membership regularly. Your access will be automatically revoked from the associated VSC upon sale.

Do I have to connect a portfolio when I create an account on Urvin?

No! Portfolio connection is only required for access to a VSC. You can engage in our non-verified communities and access our data as long as you have a verified email address. Of course, we encourage connecting your portfolio for a more personalized and dynamic experience, but it is entirely optional. 

What does it cost to join Urvin VSCs? 

There is no cost. It’s totally free to register your email, access our data, connect your portfolio, and engage in communities both verified and unverified. 

Can you see the details of my portfolio when I connect?
Yes and no. 

We can not see any of your authentication information or credentials. These sensitive details are managed securely by our partners—Mesh and SnapTrade. (Check out their respective sites to learn more about their security protocols.)

We can see the positions that you hold - and the resulting VSC membership. This information is shared privately through our 3rd party connections with SnapTrade/Mesh, and your broker. That data is encrypted in-flight and at-rest, and is only accessible to our employees on a need-to-know basis.

Are Verified Shareholder Communities directly tied to the issuer?

Not entirely just yet. But that is part of the plan. Ultimately, we want VSCs to provide a direct connection between issuers and shareholders. Issuer participation will be essential to this ambition. 

There are some issuers on the site who are leaning into the vision and taking the reins of their respective communities. These issuers are taking advantage of a valuable and direct line of engagement with their shareholders. 

We have highlighted these particular communities as Official VSCs. We ultimately aspire to have a robust mix of official and unofficial/P2P verified communities.

So where is all of this headed?

Right now we do not monetize the site. Our plan is to keep most current features free, while continuing to add new features, premium data sets, and advanced tools. 

Our long-term monetization plan will be fueled by issuers. We’ve built a new and superior way to connect companies and investors, and we’re seeing a great deal of excitement about this development in the issuer and shareholder services communities. 

Speaking of shareholder services, we’ve also partnered with Proxymity to help facilitate proxy voting across issuers. Proxymity pairs with our VSCs to streamline the voting process for shareholders. 

As a community, we have already seen the power retail holds when campaigning for proxy voting. The partnership between Proxymity and Urvin VSCs gives us a way to harness that power and participate in a meaningful way. ​