Hatch – the rules of engagement
Last updated: 27 May 2024
Kia Ora!
Thanks for choosing to invest on your terms (and ours).
Our terms
We use the term “Hatch account” to refer to all parts of the account you open with Hatch, including the individual brokerage account held in your name with DriveWealth LLC.
The terms below apply to you when you use the Hatch website or open a Hatch account, so it’s important you read and understand them and agree to follow them throughout your Hatch journey.
We can change these terms at any time, so keep checking in. We’ll email you three weeks in advance of changes to the meaning or effect of these terms, but we won’t bother you if we’re just fixing typos or the changes are inconsequential. If you don’t like the changes, you can cancel your Hatch account before the new terms take effect. If you keep using Hatch after we’ve changed the terms, we’ll consider you to have accepted the new terms.
As well as our terms, there are specific terms which apply to each product on Hatch. You’ll need to accept those specific terms to use those products.
All about Hatch
Hatch is available to New Zealand residents (both physical and tax). If that’s not you, you’re unable to open a Hatch account. If you’re under 18, you’ll need a parent or legal guardian to open a Hatch Kids Account. If your tax residency changes after you’ve joined Hatch, you need to tell us as soon as possible.
Hatch gives you access to products to help you invest, by working with global companies who provide those products. We don’t provide those products ourselves, so we take no responsibility for those products. You’ll need to carefully read the terms for each product to see if it’s right for you and what the risks are before you choose to add that product.
We’re in the business of bringing you investment opportunities to choose from, not telling you what to do, so we won’t be giving you any investment, financial, tax, valuation or other advice about these products. You’re responsible for your own decisions in choosing and using the products on Hatch. You’ll be investing real money, in real investments. There’s a real risk you could lose some or all of the money you invest. You’re responsible for your own investment decisions, and any losses you suffer as a result of those decisions, not us, or any of our counterparties.
Hatch is part of FNZ. FNZ is a leading global wealth management business and provides backend technology that powers wealth building platforms like Hatch.
It’s all digital (online etc)
You must sign up to Hatch online and make sure that all the information you provide is complete and accurate. We’ll ask you to upload information to verify your identity (to comply with our legal obligations) and we use electronic identity verification services to confirm your identity and conduct customer due diligence checks (such as PEP checking). By applying for Hatch, you consent to us verifying your identity and conducting checks using these electronic services.
If you don’t upload all the information we need to verify your identity and that we and our partners need to comply with our legal obligations, we won’t be able to open an account for you on Hatch.
You agree that we can communicate with you about your account and products electronically.
We and our partners will only accept orders sent through your Hatch account.
Your Hatch account
Your Hatch account shows the value of the money and investments you hold through Hatch, and is where you place your orders for your trading account.
Money you deposit into your Hatch account is held in a New Zealand bank account in the name of Hatch’s custodian, FNZ Custodians Limited, an FNZ Group company designed to hold investor assets. It is held for your benefit in a pooled account with money of other Hatch customers, and we arrange for it to be exchanged into US dollars and deposited into your DriveWealth trading account. We don’t pay interest on the money in the bank account – it’s usually only there for a day or so (unless it’s deposited late on Friday or over the weekend). You accept that any interest earned is paid to Hatch and does not form part of the money that it held on your behalf in the pooled account.
We’re responsible for keeping accurate records about your money and making sure we transfer the correct amount to your DriveWealth trading account. We are not responsible or liable for any losses caused by fluctuations in the exchange rate, or delays caused by us or a failure of the banks Hatch’s custodian deals with.
If you disagree with records we provide to you about any investments you have bought or sold through your Hatch account, you must tell us as soon as possible, and in any case within two days. If you disagree with your Hatch account statement, please tell us within seven days.
If we can’t match the money deposited into the custodial bank account with a Hatch customer, we may return the money to its originating bank account.
If you (or we) close your Hatch account, we will arrange for any investments held through Hatch to be cashed up and the money paid back to your bank account.
Your investments are held by DriveWealth, or its sub custodian, on your behalf rather than by Hatch itself. Refer to information below on our business partners.
Keeping safe online
It’s important that we have up-to-date details about you at all times. You need to check your account details regularly and let us know as soon as possible if there is any change.
We’ll provide you with secure access to your Hatch account. You’re responsible for choosing and changing your password and making sure no-one else uses your account. If we receive an order from your account, we’re assuming it’s from you and we’ll act on it. We’re not responsible or liable for any unauthorised use of your Hatch account, or you losing money because of unauthorised use.
It’s up to you to keep your Hatch account secure and prevent other people accessing it. You should make sure no-one else sees you enter your password and change it regularly (at once, if you think someone else knows it). Get more tips on keeping your Hatch account secure here.
If we suspect, or you report, unauthorised use of your Hatch account, we may suspend access to your Hatch account. We may also suspend access to your Hatch account if we think the security of it has been compromised, if we suspect it’s being used for illegal purposes, or if we are required to by law or any regulator.
We’ll let you know if we’re going to suspend access to your Hatch account (and why) if we can. Sometimes this won’t be possible if we have to act quickly to maintain the security of your account or if we are prevented by law or a regulator from telling you. We’re not liable for any money or opportunity you lose while your account is suspended.
You need to report any unauthorised use of your Hatch account to us immediately, by emailing us at help@hatchinvest.nz.
While we have taken reasonable steps to ensure the security of the information you give us, you acknowledge that you give us information and use Hatch at your own risk. We are not liable for any misuse of the information you’ve given us that arises from a breach of our security measures.
Availability
Our team is available from 9.00am - 5.30pm Monday to Friday to bring you Hatch, address concerns and fix any glitches.
We can’t guarantee that Hatch will always be available and without delays or errors. It’s not perfect (yet). We may need to suspend access to Hatch for emergencies, technical or regulatory reasons, or to maintain or improve Hatch (inching closer to perfect).We’re not liable to you if Hatch is unavailable for any purpose, including technical issues which arise outside of business hours.
Fees
We don’t charge any fees to open a Hatch account, but there are fees for using any of the products on Hatch. Details of the current fees are available here.
Complaints
If you have a complaint, first you raise it with us, Hatch. If we are unable to resolve your complaint to your satisfaction, you can, free of charge, refer it to our external dispute resolution scheme. This is:
Financial Services Complaints Ltd (FSCL) - A Financial Ombudsman Service,
Level 4, 101 Lambton Quay, Wellington 6011
Currency Exchange Providers
We use currency exchange providers who exchange the NZD you deposit with us into USD so you can invest on the US share markets. We’ll give you an estimate of the exchange rate before we change your NZD into another currency and then confirm it once the deal is done. While the rate you get should be close to the estimate, we have zero control over the currency markets so we are not liable for any difference between the estimate and the rate you actually receive.
Hatch connects to:
DriveWealth
DriveWealth is a US broker-dealer who provide the broking service on Hatch and is responsible for holding investments on your behalf (either itself or through a sub-custodian or other provider). Through your Hatch account, you’ll buy shares in companies and ETFs, using DriveWealth’s broking service. DriveWealth allow you to invest dollar amounts, so you can buy as much or as little of a company or ETF as you like, even if it’s a fraction of a share.
DriveWealth gives you direct access to shares in over 4,700 of the world’s best-known companies and more than 1,200 ETFs.
When you sign up for the US share markets product, you agree to the terms of Drive Wealth’s Customer Account Agreement. You seriously need to read this, as it sets out what Drive Wealth (and you) are and aren’t responsible for when you trade through Hatch.
We respect your privacy
We need to collect and hold your personal details to deliver Hatch to you. If you don’t want to give us some of the information we ask for, you may not be able to use Hatch.
Who can you give my information to?
Rest assured, we’re only asking for information that we and our third party suppliers need, and we absolutely do not sell your details to marketing companies.
Information for Hatch
Some of the information we ask you for is for us, and this information is held and protected by New Zealand Privacy Law as set out in our privacy statement.
Information for accessing the US share markets
Some of the information we ask you for is for DriveWealth. It’s important to understand that Drive Wealth are not subject to New Zealand law and may not be required to protect your information in a way that, overall, provides comparable safeguards to those required by New Zealand privacy law. It’s held and protected as set out in their Privacy Policy, which you should read and understand as well.
By using Hatch, you’re agreeing to us sharing your information with them.