Trove is currently available on iOS and Android. First and foremost, we would require your Bank Verification Number (BVN). This has been mandated by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Central Bank of Nigeria to reduce incidences of fraud and money laundering. The following documents are also necessary to sign up for Trove:

• Valid driver’s license
• International Passport*
• National ID Card
• Voters registration card

NOTE: Proof of address is required when opening an account with an International Passport or if your current address is different from what is displayed on your ID. Accepted proof of address documents are:

• Bank statement
• Utility bill
• Estate Dues Statement
• Rent Agreement (Address Page)

After you create your Trove Account and upload all the required documentation, your U.S. brokerage account is automatically created with DriveWealth LLC., our US partner and Sigma Securities Ltd or ARM Securities, both SEC Registered stockbrokers. Account approval typically takes 1 business day. Once approved, you will be able to fund your brokerage account using either the bank transfer method or with a debit card. Once the funds become available in your brokerage account, typically within 1 – 2 business days, you will be able to make investments on Trove. Feel free to use the extensive research and support available on the platform to make your investment choices.

It takes just 3-4 minutes to fill the account opening form on Trove.com. You will need to upload your address and ID proofs during this process. Then it takes ~T+1 business day for your account to get approved by our brokerage partners. All of the KYC documentation and filing is done within this time frame.

You can start investing as soon as you have money in your brokerage account.
Once your brokerage account gets approved (you will be notified), you can fund your account by doing a bank transfer from your domestic account. Trove works with multiple domestic banks to make the process easy and seamless for you and also to get you very low forex rates. You can do all this sitting at home or office. Then it takes ~T+1 business day for the transferred money to reflect in your account. You can start investing immediately afterwards.

Not as of now. Trove currently allows personal investing accounts only. We will, however, let you know as soon as we have that facility available.

US brokerage ecosystem recommends that ever investor account should have insurance. Trove’s brokerage partner, DriveWealth, is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (“SIPC”) which currently protects the securities and cash in your Account up to $500,000 of which $250,000 may be in cash.

Please note that this $500,000 is not applicable general losses in the stock market.

SIPC says the following: SIPC protects against the loss of cash and securities – such as stocks and bonds – held by a customer at a financially-troubled SIPC-member brokerage firm. The limit of SIPC protection is $500,000, which includes a $250,000 limit for cash. A non-U.S. citizen with an account at a brokerage firm that is a member of SIPC is treated the same as a resident or citizen of the United States with an account at a brokerage firm that is a member of SIPC.
SIPC does not protect against the decline in value of your securities. SIPC does not protect individuals who are sold worthless stocks and other securities. SIPC does not protect claims against a broker for bad investment advice, or for recommending inappropriate investments. Explanatory brochure available upon request or at www.sipc.org.

There is no TDS (Tax Deduction at Source) for your stock market gains in the US. So when you make money and send it back to your Nigerian bank account, the broker in the US does not deduct any tax on it. You will have to pay Short-term Capital Gains Tax OR Long-term Capital Gains Tax in Nigeria, whatever is applicable. Short-term Capital Gains apply if a security is held for less than 12 months. US and Nigeria have a Double Taxation Avoidance Agreement (DTAA). This means that you pay tax only once. For the TDS done on your dividend earnings, you will get W-8BEN from DriveWealth. You can use it while filing your taxes in Nigeria to show that you have already paid taxes on this income. W-8BEN can be issued whenever you request. For any further queries and help understanding taxation, please feel free to raise a ticket and we will get back to you with an expert opinion. Disclaimer: This article is for informational purposes only. None of the contents of this article should be treated as tax advice. Please consult a qualified tax consultant or expert with your specific taxation situation for appropriate advice.

Your Nigerian investing (brokerage) account is opened at one of our Nigerian brokerage services partners, Sigma Securities Limited & ARM Securities Limited – both SEC licensed regulated brokerage firms.

Your US investing (brokerage) account is opened at our US brokerage and clearing services partner DriveWealth – a FINRA regulated brokerage firm. It is a licensed carrying and self-clearing broker offering brokerage services to global investors. DriveWealth is backed by Softbank Group and other leading venture capital firms in the financial services ecosystem. The custody of your US account, would be held by DriveWealth.

Your investing accounts are held by reputable brokerages and clearing services providers. The custody of your account is managed by some of the largest banks and clearing firms in the world. Your account will still be safe and secure with them, independent of Trove’s future, and you will be able to access it and/or move it to another brokerage firm, as you please. Additionally, you also have investor protection on your U.S. investment account through the SIPC.

To get started on Trove, you would need a deposit of $10 or ₦1,000 to get started.

From your Trove dashboard, navigate to “My Wallets” and click on the “Deposit” button available in many places in your wallet. Enter the amount you want to send to your brokerage account. It’s likely that Trove has already tee-up with your bank (we have tee-up with most domestic banks to get our clients good forex rates and to help with fund transfers). Again, note that there are two means of crediting your wallet: 1) Bank Transfer 2) Debit Card

All you need to do is click the “Withdraw” button on your Portfolio page or inside “My Account”. You will be shown how much money is available for you to withdraw. This is the “cash” in your account – either uninvested money or generated from sales of securities you, previously, owned. You can place a withdrawal request and the money will be wired to your domestic bank account. It takes T+1 business day for the money to hit your domestic bank account. After selling any assets, whenever you want to get your money back, just click on “Withdraw” and all your available cash will be sent over to your domestic bank account.

We offer a variety of assets that you can invest in, from global stocks to bonds. You can invest in over 4,000 stocks on Trove, including U.S. equities and exchange-traded funds (ETFs), American Depository Receipts (ADRs), Nigerian Stocks listed on the Nigerian Stock Exchange (NSE). We also offer Mutual funds from top-tier Mutual fund providers in Nigeria.

You own the stocks through your account with Trove and DriveWealth. DriveWealth manages the books and records and stocks. Nigerian Securities are held in custody by ARM Securities or in your name depending on what you choose during your on boarding process.

Our brokerage partner, DriveWealth, allows you to own as low as 0.0001% share of any stock. A single Apple stock is valued at over $200 as of this article, Google costs over $1,000, Amazon costs more than $2,000, Pepsi, Nike, Coke – all between $100 and $200, as of this article. However, with fractional stocks you could effectively build a diversified portfolio with smaller amounts of money.

One of the unique things about the US stock markets is that investors can own fractions of stocks. Unlike in countries like Nigeria. So you could own 0.05 of Apple stock. Our brokerage partner DriveWealth allows you to own as low as 0.0001 share of any stock. And this is great for 2 reasons:

1. You don’t have to think in terms of “how many shares should I buy?”. You can simply decide to invest a certain amount of money and the number of units to be allocated to you gets automatically calculated and would get credited to your account. For instance, if a stock is valued at $27 and you decide to invest $100 in it, you will get 3.70 shares.
2. Many popular US stocks are more expensive than typical Nigerian stocks. While a single Apple stock is valued at over $200 as of this writing, Google costs over $1,000 and Amazon costs more than $2,000. Pepsi, Nike, Coke – all between $100 and $200.As of this writing. So, with fractional stocks you could effectively build a pretty diversified portfolio with small amounts of money.

Voting Right: If you own 34.5 stocks of a company, your voting rights will be for 34 shares. You don’t get voting rights on fractions of stock you own.

Dividend: So Dividends, yes! If a hundred dollar dividend per share is announced, you will get $3,450. The only limitation is that we cannot give you fractional money so if you own 0.0001 stock and the dividend announced is $5 per stock, you will not be able to receive half a cent.

Currently, Trove helps you invest in US stock markets. Interestingly, many large global companies have US listed ADRs which are available on Trove. From Chinese giants like Alibaba to many Indian and European companies are all available.

Trove is currently available to Nigerians. Once you have a Nigerian BVN, irrespective of where you live, you can download and trade on Trove.

Trove over 3,800 securities – listed on the NSE, NASDAQ and NYSE – as of now. These are a mix of stocks, bonds, mutual funds and ETFs (Exchange Traded Funds). Almost all the marquee listed companies in the US with USD Billion+ market caps, are available.

No. If there is a fee-based arrangement between you and your investment advisor or wealth manager, currently you will manage your fee payments outside of Trove.

Trove has a lot of data and research available for various kinds of investors. If you are a hobbyist investor, you will see stocks you might like (based on your investing patterns, time you spend on various kinds of stocks, your watch list etc.). If you are an experienced investor, you can make good use the sophisticated tools that Trove provides. Trove also gets you various kinds of investment intelligence from sources such as analyst reports, regulatory filings of companies, breaking news.

While Trove does not give recommendations to its users, we have quite a few features on the platform that help users shorten their decision cycles. In order to help you discover ideas, Trove automatically gives you “Trending Stocks”, stocks that you might like (based on your investing profile), other stocks related to any stock that you may be looking at, stocks with breaking news, stocks buzzing on social media, stocks and ETFs in themes or sectors you may be interested in … and a lot more. Additionally, for every security (stock or ETF), Trove gives decision support indicators and data based on company’s past performance, analysts’ opinions, and the company’s predicted performance trends.