Why do I have to go through KYC and verify my identity?

Well, you don’t! If you only want to use Hedgehog’s software tools to manage your own portfolio, you can use Hedgehog without KYC. If you want to use our advice or best-price products, though, we’ll have to get your information. Essentially, it boils down to government regulations, something that we obviously have no control over. Hedgehog's secret sauce is in allowing users to take advantage of best-price trading. The way this works from a technical point of view is to let Hedgehog open an account with a custodian for you, so that we can perform these trades on your behalf. In order to create a custodial account, going through the KYC process is required.