Investor social network pulls in financing of its own

Covestor, a social network for armchair investment managers, has raised its own funds. The New York-based company said Monday that it closed on a $6.5 million first round of financing led by Union Square Ventures and Spark Capital. European investor Amadeus Capital Partners also joined the round.

As part of the deal, Todd Dagres from Spark Capital and Albert Wenger of Union Square will join the company's board of directors.

Covestor, which launched its public beta last summer, lets members share and track their investment portfolios. Over time, members can build up a reputation based on the performance of their investments--a status that could eventually help the best investors collect fees from the people who follow them, according to Covestor. So far, members share data on more than $100 million in securities.

"In our first nine months we have demonstrated that there are tens of thousands of self-directed investors out there who are as good, if not better than the pros," Covestor CEO Rikki Tahta said in a statement.

The company said it plans to use the funds to build up its asset-management technology.