CommonStock

Commonstock operates as a social investment platform designed to enhance financial knowledge by allowing users to observe and replicate the trading activities of experienced investors. Founded by David McDonough, the company was established to create a transparent community where investment insights could be shared and validated. McDonough's journey began after the 2008 financial crisis, which sparked his interest in markets. A self-taught coder, he developed the foundational concept for Commonstock as a side project while working as an engineer at Google, driven by a desire to invest alongside friends and learn from credible sources. He left Google in 2017 to pursue the venture full-time.

The platform functions as a broker-agnostic social layer built on top of existing brokerage and cryptocurrency exchanges. Users can link their brokerage accounts, which enables them to share their investment portfolios, performance, and real-time trades. To ensure privacy and focus on strategy, financial data is displayed by percentage, with specific dollar amounts never shared. This structure is intended to foster an environment where an investor's track record verifies their credibility, separating valuable insights from speculative noise. The platform serves retail investors, from novices seeking to learn to experienced traders wanting to share their strategies.

Key features include real-time alerts that notify users when investors they follow execute a trade, facilitating the exchange of strategies and the ability to copy trades. The platform also supports discussions around investment theses and market analysis. It allows users to form groups to invest as a team or in friendly competitions. In August 2023, Yahoo acquired Commonstock, with the aim of integrating its social and community features into the Yahoo Finance platform to provide users with a more comprehensive investment resource. Prior to its acquisition, Commonstock had raised a total of $36.5 million over four funding rounds, including a $25 million Series A led by Coatue in October 2021.

Keywords: social investing, retail investors, portfolio sharing, copy trading, financial community, investment insights, stock market education, fintech, brokerage integration, peer-to-peer investing