From Covestor to DubApp: The Evolution of the Creator Economy in Investing

When we talk about the "creator economy," most people think of YouTube, TikTok, or Substack. But there is another creator economy that has been quietly evolving for over a decade: the creator economy of investing. The idea is simple but profound—what if you could automatically copy the trades of talented, proven investors rather than relying on faceless mutual funds or trying to pick stocks yourself?

It is not a new idea. Back in 2011, I signed my first Publisher License Agreement with a pioneering platform called Covestor. Founded around 2007, Covestor was arguably the first true attempt to democratize investment management by bringing separately managed accounts (SMAs) online. They proved that talented retail investors and independent professionals could build a following, manage capital transparently, and get paid for their expertise. I still have the compensation check from Covestor Ltd. dated November 2015, a small but meaningful reminder of my early days as an investment creator.

Covestor was eventually acquired by Interactive Brokers in 2015, and the platform as we knew it ceased to exist. But the vision never died. Today, as the creator of the $PRMSHLD portfolio on DubAdvisors, I have a front-row seat to the next generation of social investing.

DubApp has taken the baton from Covestor and revolutionized the space. While Covestor laid the vital groundwork for transparent, creator-led investing, the technology and market infrastructure of the 2010s held it back. Today, DubApp has perfected the model through three revolutionary improvements: fractional shares, frictionless mobile accessibility, and percentage-based portfolio allocation.

The Barrier of Entry: Fractional Shares vs. High Minimums

In the Covestor era, the barrier to entry was steep. Because trades were replicated as whole shares, investors needed significant capital just to follow a single strategy. Looking back at my 2011 Covestor compensation schedule, the platform required minimum investments ranging from $5,000 to $100,000 depending on the creator's management level. For the average retail investor, allocating $40,000 to a single creator's model was simply out of reach. It was democratization in theory, but not in practice.

DubApp fundamentally changes this dynamic through the integration of fractional shares. By partnering with modern clearing infrastructure, DubApp allows investors to buy partial shares of thousands of U.S. stocks and ETFs.

This is a game-changer. It means that an investor can achieve true diversification and follow sophisticated, multi-asset strategies with as little as $100. You no longer need to be wealthy to invest like the wealthy. Whether someone is allocating $1,000 or $100,000, they can mirror the exact same portfolio with precision. By eliminating the capital barrier, DubApp has achieved the true democratization that early platforms could only dream of.

Frictionless Onboarding: The Mobile-First Advantage

If you wanted to copy a creator on Covestor, you had to prepare for a cumbersome process. The platform was built for the desktop era. Onboarding meant navigating a complex web of linking external brokerage accounts, signing dense legal agreements, and filling out rigid, multi-page risk questionnaires. Even for creators, the process was highly bureaucratic—involving everything from strict trading frequency caps to mandatory professional photo shoots organized by marketing agencies.

DubApp was built for the smartphone generation. It is a self-directed brokerage that operates natively as a mobile app, boasting a 4.7-star rating on the App Store. The user experience brings the seamlessness of modern social media to asset management.

With just a few taps, users can set up an account, add funds, browse through hundreds of creators, and start copying trades. There are no external brokerages to link; everything happens within the Dub ecosystem. It is frictionless. When you find an investor whose strategy aligns with your goals, following them is as easy as following a creator on Instagram. This ease of use is critical because friction is the enemy of good financial habits. By making the process effortless, DubApp encourages broader participation in the markets.

The Mindset Shift: Percentage-Based Allocation

Perhaps the most profound difference between the old era and the new is how trades are actually executed. Covestor relied on whole-share replication. If a creator bought 10 shares of Apple, the system attempted to mirror that trade for the copier based on their account size. This model inherently focused investors on specific stock prices and individual positions.

DubApp introduces a revolutionary mindset shift: purchases are made as a percentage of the total portfolio. When a creator on DubApp rebalances their portfolio, they are adjusting allocation percentages. The platform then executes a "basket trade," automatically adjusting the copier's portfolio to match those exact percentages. Everyone, including the creator, receives the same average execution price simultaneously, ensuring absolute fairness across all account sizes.

This is exactly how individuals should approach investing. Instead of obsessing over whether a specific stock is up or down on a given day, percentage-based allocation forces investors to think like institutional wealth managers. It shifts the focus to sector allocation, macroeconomic trends, and strategic positioning.

In my $PRMSHLD All Weather portfolio, this capability is essential. My strategy is data-driven, balancing growth and capital preservation by combining a solid foundation in basic materials and commodities with a strong focus on technology and AI infrastructure. When global economic shifts occur, I don't just pick a new stock; I adjust the weightings of entire sectors to navigate the macro environment. DubApp's percentage-based model allows my copiers to seamlessly participate in that strategic discipline, regardless of their account size.

The Ultimate Vision Realized

Covestor deserves immense credit for being a pioneer. They proved that the traditional asset management model could be disrupted and that transparency could replace the closed doors of Wall Street. But they were ultimately constrained by the technology of their time.

Fifteen years later, DubApp has realized the ultimate vision of social investing. By combining fractional shares, a frictionless mobile experience, and percentage-based allocation, they have built a platform where financial expertise is truly accessible to everyone. The creator economy of investing has finally come of age.

Libardo Lambrano is a data-driven multi-asset investor and the creator of the '$PRMSHLD @ DubAdvisors' portfolio. He is a premium creator on the DubAdvisors platform. To learn more about his strategy and view his portfolio, visit https://dubadvisors.com/offerings/libardo-lambrano.