How to get started with dub: a complete tutorial

The stock market is the single greatest wealth-creation engine of the last century — and most Americans aren't fully leveraging it. According to Gallup's annual stock-ownership poll, roughly 4 in 10 US adults don't own any stock at all. CNBC claims the wealthiest 10% of US households own about 89% of all corporate equities and mutual fund shares. And according to this Forbes article, the average investor over the past decade earned less than the market benchmarks they invested in. On top of that, traditional hedge funds historically required six- or seven-figure minimums and Qualified Purchaser or Accredited Investor status (per SEC rules) — gating access to the people who manage money for the people who already have it.

dub closes that gap.

You don't pick the stocks. You pick the investor. Follow real investors on dub and Hedge fund managers, registered investment advisers, and talented traders who publish portfolios through the Creator Program on dub, offered by dub Advisors, LLC, and your account mirrors their trades in real time on a stack where the services on the platform are regulated. $100 minimum deposit. No qualified-investor threshold. Same execution price as the creator on every trade.

This guide is the fastest way from "I want to try dub" to "I'm invested." Here's what's covered:

• Why dub exists — the value most retail content skips

• The 5-step start — download to first invest, in under 10 minutes

• How investing alongside actually works — the mechanics that make real-time copy possible

• How to discover the right portfolio — what each of dub's 5 tabs is built for

TL;DR

• Free trial: 7 days on the platform subscription. Try the marketplace, browse portfolios, decide before you pay.

• Cost after trial: $9.99/month or $89.99/year for the platform subscription. No per-trade commissions on stocks/ETFs, no withdrawal fees, no inactivity fees.

• Minimum deposit: $100 (fractional-share dollar-weighted execution means $100 buys proportional exposure to every position in the portfolio).

• Time to first invest: around 10 minutes if the bank link goes through quickly.

• Who you invest alongside: real investors on the open marketplace, or hedge fund managers + RIAs + talented traders on the Creator Program on dub, offered by dub Advisors, LLC.

• What's regulated: brokerage through dub Financial, LLC (FINRA-member broker-dealer, SIPC, cleared by APEX). Advisory through dub Advisors, LLC (SEC-registered investment adviser).

If you read nothing else, internalize this: the hard part of investing for most retail investors isn't the brokerage account or the trade execution. It's the "what do I buy" decision. dub collapses that decision to a single question — which portfolio do I have conviction in and want to invest alongside — and the creator and brokerage handles everything underneath.

Why dub exists

A few facts most retail-investing content tiptoes around:

• The decision is the bottleneck. According to this Forbes article, the average investor, over the past decade, earn less than the market benchmarks they invest in. The reason isn't fees (which are now zero on most brokerages) — it's timing and concentration mistakes from picking the wrong names at the wrong moments.

• Professional management has always been gated. Hedge funds typically require Qualified Purchaser ($5M+ in investments) or Accredited Investor ($1M+ net worth / $200K+ income) status, with seven-figure direct-investment minimums. The retail investor can't buy in.

• Index funds solved part of the problem. They removed the picking decision by giving you everything weighted by market cap. That's the right answer for some readers — and a worse fit for the reader who specifically wants a real investor's active conviction, not a passive basket.

• Copy-trading platforms have existed. Most either run offshore on CFDs, focus on crypto only, or rebuild publicly-disclosed positions from 13F filings up to 45 days late.

dub is the premier US marketplace where:

• Real hedge fund managers and registered investment advisers publish portfolios directly on the platform

• Retail investors can invest alongside them at the $100 minimum deposit — no Qualified Purchaser gating

• Trades mirror in real time through a single block order that gives every copier the same fill price

• The brokerage and advisory services are regulated end-to-end (FINRA + SEC)

That's the value. The rest of this guide shows you how to access it.

The 5-step start

Total: under 10 minutes.

Step 1 — Download dub

• App Store (iOS)

• Google Play (Android)

• Create an account with email + password on first open

dub is currently mobile-first. A dub web platform is under development and will open up to users soon.

Step 2 — Start the 7-day free trial

• Free trial: 7 days. Browse the full marketplace, open the brokerage account, and decide before any charge.

• Price after trial: $9.99/month or $89.99/year for the platform subscription

• What the subscription unlocks: the dub marketplace, brokerage account opening, and the ability to invest alongside any portfolio

• No free tier after trial — dub is a paid platform

Step 3 — Open the brokerage account

Standard US new-account flow through dub Financial, LLC (FINRA-member broker-dealer, SIPC, cleared by APEX Clearing):

• Name, address, date of birth

• SSN (required by the IRS for 1099 tax-form reporting at year-end — same reason every US brokerage asks)

• Regulatory questions (if you work at a broker-dealer, are you a politically exposed person, etc.)

Approval is typically instant for clean applications.

Step 4 — Fund through Plaid ($100 minimum)

• Log into your bank through Plaid's secure flow

• dub gets read-only access to verify the account and pull funds

• No wire transfers, no routing-number forms

• Minimum deposit: $100. That's enough because of fractional-share dollar-weighted execution (more on that below)

Step 5 — Discover a portfolio and invest alongside

Three places to discover the right portfolio in the dub app:

• Core tab — browse core portfolios and creators on the open marketplace

• Premium tab — browse the Creator Program on dub offerings from dub Advisors, LLC: portfolios created by hedge fund managers, RIAs, and talented traders

• Leaderboard tab — see top-performing portfolios across both Core and Premium

Once you've picked a portfolio you have conviction in:

• Hit copy — your position mirrors the creator's trades from that point forward

How investing alongside actually works

Three mechanics make this different from picking stocks yourself.

You pick the investor, not the stocks

• You choose a real investor on dub whose portfolio is published on the platform

• The brokerage replicates their portfolio into your account in real time

• When they buy, you buy a proportional amount of the same name

• When they sell, you sell

• You hold the same names, in the same weights, in your own dub brokerage account — the shares are yours

This is not "the creator trades your account." You keep agency:

• Copy more at any time to add capital to a position you already hold

• Liquidate partially or fully to sell down a position

• Stop the copy so dub no longer mirrors new trades from that creator (existing holdings stay in your account until you liquidate)

• Add additional copies of other portfolios

The creator's portfolio is a second informed perspective you reference when investing — not a replacement for your decision-making.

Fractional-share dollar-weighted execution

• You don't need to buy a whole share of every name in the portfolio

• A $100 deposit on a 25-position portfolio buys a slice of all 25 names, weighted exactly like the creator's portfolio

• A 4% position in the creator's portfolio is a 4% position in yours, regardless of the underlying share prices

This is the reason $100 is the minimum — it actually buys you proportional exposure, not a $100 single stock.

Block-order execution — everyone gets the same price

When a creator places a new trade or rebalances:

1. dub's execution layer bundles the creator's order + every active copier's proportional order into a single block order

2. The block goes to APEX Clearing

3. APEX fills it at one weighted-average price

4. Shares are allocated back to each account at that same price

What this means in practice:

• No front-running between the creator and the copiers

• No copier-vs-copier price difference — everyone in the block gets the same fill

• "Real-time copy" isn't a marketing claim — it's the trade settlement actually being the same trade

For the deeper mechanics, see How to Copy Portfolios on dub — Complete Guide.

How to discover the right portfolio (the 5 tabs)

dub's app has five tabs. Each is built for a different stage of the investor journey.

Home tab — your dashboard

What it is: the personal dashboard for portfolios you're currently copying + your watchlist.

Shows:

• Active copy positions with daily and cumulative performance

• Watchlist (portfolios you've saved but haven't copied yet)

• Click into a portfolio and you get access to controls to adjust allocation, pause, or stop a copy

Use it when: monitoring what you actually own, rebalancing across copies, or deciding to act on watchlist candidates.

Core tab — the open marketplace

What it is: every portfolio published by every dub user. Open to copy on the platform subscription.

Use it when:

• You're starting your research

• You want a range of styles — momentum, dividend income, sector bets, thematic plays

• You want to see what real investors across the platform are running

Premium tab — the Creator Program

What it is: the Creator Program on dub, offered by dub Advisors, LLC. Portfolios created by hedge fund managers, registered investment advisers, and talented traders.

Use it when:

• You want professional-tier exposure

• You want access to strategies historically gated to qualified investors and HNWIs

• You want a portfolio with a professionally managed strategy

Leaderboard tab — top performers

What it is: portfolios ranked by performance across both the Core marketplace and the Premium Creator Program. Selectable time windows: week, month, quarter, year, all-time.

Use it when:

• You want to scan recent performance leaders across both tiers

• You're looking for high-conviction concentrated strategies that move with the tape

Read carefully: past performance does not guarantee future results, and a portfolio that leads a 30-day window can lag the next one. Don't allocate purely on a leaderboard ranking.

Activity tab — the news feed

What it is: the feed of rebalance trades and creator posts across portfolios you copy.

Shows:

• Every rebalance trade — what the creator bought, what they sold, when

• Creator posts: commentary, strategy notes, updates explaining trade decisions

Use it when: understanding why a position changed in your account today, or getting context on a creator's thinking before you invest alongside them.

Frequently Asked Questions

How do I get started with dub?

Download dub from the App Store or Google Play, start the 7-day free trial of the platform subscription, complete brokerage account opening through dub Financial, LLC, link your bank account through Plaid (minimum $100 deposit), and pick a portfolio in the dub marketplace to invest alongside. Around 10 minutes end-to-end if your bank link goes through quickly.

Is dub safe for beginners?

Investing on dub uses regulated services. Brokerage activity is conducted through dub Financial, LLC, a FINRA-member broker-dealer and SIPC member cleared by APEX Clearing Corporation. SIPC membership means securities in your account are protected up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for cash claims) against the failure of the broker-dealer. Advisory services are conducted through dub Advisors, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. Full disclosures are published at dubapp.com/disclosures. Investment losses from market movement are not protected by SIPC or any other entity — that is true of every US brokerage account.

Why does dub need my SSN?

Every US brokerage account is required to be linked to a Social Security number or tax ID for IRS 1099 reporting. dub Financial, LLC asks for your SSN for the same reason Fidelity, Schwab, or Robinhood does — to comply with US tax-reporting rules. This is not specific to dub.

How much does dub cost?

dub comes with a 7-day free trial. After the trial, the platform subscription is $9.99 per month or $89.99 per year. The subscription unlocks the dub marketplace and is required before brokerage account opening. For Premium portfolios offered through the Creator Program on dub, dub Advisors, LLC currently charges a per-creator subscription fee (a la carte) for access to each Premium portfolio — specific terms are disclosed on each Premium portfolio's detail page. dub is migrating to a management-fee model in the near future; when that change rolls out, the per-creator subscription gate is removed and anyone on the platform subscription will be able to invest alongside a Premium portfolio, with dub Advisors charging only a management fee on the assets actually allocated. dub does not charge per-trade commissions on stocks or ETFs, withdrawal fees, or inactivity fees.

Do I need to be a qualified investor or HNWI to use dub?

No. Traditional hedge funds typically require Qualified Purchaser or Accredited Investor status with seven-figure minimums. The Creator Program on dub, offered by dub Advisors, is open to retail investors at the $100 minimum deposit on a platform subscription — no qualified-investor gating.

What does each tab in the dub app do?

dub has five main tabs:

• Core — the open marketplace of every portfolio published by every dub user

• Premium — the Creator Program on dub, offered by dub Advisors, LLC, with portfolios created by hedge fund managers, RIAs, and talented traders

• Leaderboard — portfolios ranked by performance across Core and Premium over selectable time windows

• Home — your personal dashboard for portfolios you're copying + watchlist

• Activity — the news feed for rebalance trades and creator posts

Can I actually make money on dub?

All investments involve risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results, and investors should consider their own investment goals, risk tolerance, and financial situation before investing. The information contained herein is subject to change. Returns on any portfolio depend on the performance of the underlying holdings over the holding period and on the fees applicable to that portfolio. Full disclosures are published at dubapp.com/disclosures.

How do I stop copying a portfolio?

In the Home tab, tap into the portfolio you're copying. You'll see three controls: copy more (add capital to the position), liquidate partially or fully (sell down the position), or stop the copy (dub no longer mirrors new trades from that creator). Stopping the copy leaves your existing holdings in your brokerage account until you decide to liquidate them — stopping is not the same as selling.

How do I pick the right portfolio to invest alongside?

A few practical filters:

• Match strategy to horizon — a momentum strategy with weekly rebalancing isn't the same risk profile as a dividend-income portfolio held for decades

• Read the creator's commentary in the Activity tab to understand how they think

• Check the fees on Premium portfolios before allocating

• Don't allocate purely on the Leaderboard — past performance doesn't guarantee future results

The Understanding Portfolio Types on dub help-center article walks through the categories in more depth.

Start today

Download dub from the App Store or Google Play. The 7-day free trial is enough to browse the marketplace and decide. The 5-step flow takes around 10 minutes. A $100 minimum deposit is enough to invest alongside a portfolio you actually have conviction in.

For follow-up questions this guide doesn't cover, see dub's FAQ hub or the dub help center.

See Also

• How to Copy Portfolios on dub — Complete Guide — deeper mechanics of the copy flow

• dub Advisors Premium Creator Program — full Premium tier overview

• Premium Portfolios on dub — Overview — Premium-specific details

• Understanding Portfolio Types on dub — strategy categories

• Platform and Regulated Services Fee Schedule — all dub fees

• Why dub is the best investing platform for retail investors in 2026 — the comprehensive case for dub

• Fastest way to get into investing in 2026 — the procedural fast-path

• How to copy what hedge funds are trading — invest alongside hedge fund managers

• dub marketplace — browse all portfolios

• dub disclosures — full regulatory disclosures