It’s no secret: Wealthfront just isn’t a financial institution. We’re pleased with this as a result of it’s an enormous profit to our purchasers. Selecting to not be a financial institution is what permits us to give you best-in-class merchandise just like the Money Account which are far superior to what a financial institution can provide, so you may develop your long-term wealth simply and conveniently. On this publish, we’ll clarify how Wealthfront’s non-bank standing permits us to ship worth to purchasers in a manner that banks typically can’t or received’t.
We don’t have retail branches
Financial institution branches are a giant a part of the normal financial institution’s enterprise mannequin. Traditionally, branches have been a spot to do issues like discuss to your banker, ship wires, deposit cash, and take out loans. Branches served a goal within the age earlier than smartphones, however they had been and nonetheless are costly to workers and keep.
In accordance with one estimate, a single financial institution department can price between $600,000 and $800,000 to run yearly, together with again workplace prices. Because of this, every department must generate between $600,000 and $800,000 yearly simply to interrupt even, not to mention flip a revenue. They do that in a number of methods, together with charging account charges and declining to pay you a lot (if any) curiosity in your deposits. Financial institution of America, for instance, has about 68 million retail purchasers (together with small companies) and three,900 retail branches, which works out to 17,436 prospects per department. Meaning every Financial institution of America department must get between $34 and $46 from you on common every year simply to interrupt even. Take into account the typical price per shopper may very well be a lot greater at a financial institution with branches that serve fewer individuals.
At present, it’s doable to do your entire banking remotely with out the effort of visiting an precise financial institution in particular person. That’s why Wealthfront doesn’t have retail branches — and since we solely construct issues we will automate, our again workplace prices are fairly small. We don’t have an antiquated community of pricy retail branches costing us $600,000 to $800,000 every a yr, so we don’t must get that $34 to $46 (or extra!) from you.
Because of this, we will do two issues that assist your financial savings develop sooner. One, we will pay you much more curiosity in your deposits as a substitute of protecting all of it for ourselves and our branches. And two, we will keep away from charging you any account charges like overdraft charges, switch charges, and month-to-month upkeep charges. This implies your cash grows a lot sooner at Wealthfront than it will in a checking account, and it is protected against account charges that eat away at your wealth.
We’re not regulated like a financial institution
It most likely received’t shock you to be taught that banks are extremely regulated. Many of those laws are meant to maintain your cash protected, which is an efficient factor. However sadly, some financial institution laws can have destructive negative effects. It’s because financial institution regulators are charged with defending the general stability of the monetary system, not guaranteeing buyer satisfaction. Because of this, regulators are very a lot centered on the profitability of banks and the predictability of their enterprise. This impacts prospects in two methods. One, banks can face strain from regulators to pay much less curiosity on deposits to allow them to earn greater earnings. And two, banks are additionally constrained of their capability to construct new merchandise, as a result of experimentation with new merchandise represents threat within the eyes of regulators.
Let’s take a look at an instance of a selected financial institution regulation for instance how they’ll work towards prospects. You’ll have seen that some financial savings accounts solely enable six transfers per 30 days earlier than charging a payment. This seemingly arbitrary restrict is included in provisions of Regulation D. Till they had been quickly suspended in early 2020, these provisions restricted you to 6 transfers from a financial savings account every month. Because of this, you needed to have each a financial savings and a checking account when you wished to earn the upper curiosity sometimes related to a financial savings account and still have a checking account for every day transactions. Even supposing the rule hasn’t been lively for over two years, some banks proceed to cost “extra exercise” charges for exceeding six transfers. As of the time of publication, Regulation D’s transaction limits stay suspended however the change has nonetheless not been made closing which suggests it might come again. However as a result of Wealthfront just isn’t a financial institution, we’ve been capable of provide our Money Account with limitless transfers from the beginning. Wealthfront brokers shopper deposits to “demand” accounts at accomplice banks (extra on that beneath) which, like checking accounts, don’t have transaction limits. That manner shopper transfers aren’t restricted like they’d be in financial savings accounts beneath Regulation D.
This is only one instance, however points like these are precisely why Wealthfront hasn’t taken steps to grow to be a financial institution — lots of the constraints on banks run counter to placing the pursuits of our purchasers first. We wish to maintain constructing revolutionary merchandise like our Money Account, which presents best-in-class automation options so you may manage your financial savings into classes, monitor your progress towards your objectives, and make investments your cash inside minutes throughout market hours. And we don’t wish to decide to a marketing strategy that places strain on us to revenue from purchasers; we wish to pay you a number of curiosity (and we do — our present APY of three.80% is many instances the nationwide common supplied by financial savings accounts).
We dealer our deposits to accomplice banks
A closing key distinction between Wealthfront and banks is we dealer our deposits to accomplice banks as a substitute of holding them ourselves. (Banks usually favor not to do that, because it’s typically extra worthwhile for them to carry shopper deposits immediately.) The truth that Wealthfront brokers its deposits has two key advantages for you.
1. You get extra FDIC insurance coverage
Whenever you deposit your cash at a financial institution, it’s lined by what’s often called FDIC insurance coverage. FDIC stands for Federal Deposit Insurance coverage Company, and it was based in 1933 as an impartial company of the U.S. authorities to guard money held in financial institution accounts.
FDIC insurance coverage covers as much as $250,000 per depositor, per-FDIC insured financial institution, per account class. However with a Wealthfront Money Account, your cash could be deposited at as much as eight of our accomplice banks at any given time, which suggests you truly get 8x the common quantity of FDIC insurance coverage, or as much as $2 million to your Money Account as a substitute of the $250,000 you’d get in a single account at a daily financial institution. When you have a joint Money Account, you rise up to $4 million in FDIC insurance coverage.
Typically individuals ask us how their funds are protected once they’re in transit to considered one of Wealthfront’s accomplice banks. Typically, this doesn’t come up as a result of we sweep your money to our accomplice banks on the identical day we obtain it. However within the much less seemingly occasion your cash takes a day or two to reach, your funds are nonetheless protected. That’s as a result of our Money Account is obtainable by Wealthfront Brokerage, a federally registered broker-dealer and subsequently contains Securities Investor Safety Company or SIPC insurance coverage, which covers as much as $250,000 of your money whereas it’s in transit to a accomplice financial institution.
With all of this insurance coverage, your cash is arguably a lot safer in a Wealthfront Money Account than it will be at a financial institution.
2. You profit from wholesale charges
The second good thing about brokering our deposits is that Wealthfront can make the most of wholesale rates of interest, which suggests you earn extra curiosity. Banks are required by regulators to keep up an outlined proportion of mortgage worth in deposits. When mortgage demand spikes, banks sometimes want extra deposits to satisfy that demand. To draw these deposits, banks typically want to supply the next rate of interest, no less than for a brief time period. Nonetheless it’s troublesome to quickly provide greater charges to customers as a result of they are going to be disillusioned by the speed lower as soon as the financial institution has attracted the required deposits. To keep away from this drawback, banks provide greater rates of interest on the wholesale market to broker-dealers like Wealthfront. The advantage of providing the next price on the wholesale market is a financial institution’s client depositors by no means see that their financial institution supplied the next price. Wealthfront takes benefit of those greater wholesale charges to supply our purchasers the next APY on the Wealthfront Money Account.
We navigate relationships with our accomplice banks so our purchasers can profit from excessive wholesale charges at any time when doable. We work tirelessly to make sure we’re getting the most effective charges we will to your money. We will then cross much more curiosity alongside to you so your money works more durable for you with no additional effort.
Wealthfront is healthier than a financial institution
At Wealthfront, we’re constructing a monetary system that favors individuals, not establishments. The truth that we aren’t a financial institution (i.e. don’t have a financial institution constitution and in consequence should not regulated by financial institution regulators) is a giant a part of how we’re capable of ship on that mission, and it’s how we constructed a Money Account that provides all of the banking options you want with out the effort and price of an precise checking account.
Whether or not you’re saving up for an emergency fund, constructing a down cost, or simply protecting cash helpful for short-term objectives and bills, the Wealthfront Money Account is a perfect dwelling to your money. With a excessive APY that’s designed to earn you extra, as much as $2 million in FDIC insurance coverage, and no account charges, your cash works more durable in a Money Account. The Money Account additionally has best-in-class automation options so you may kind your financial savings into classes, measure progress towards your monetary objectives, and make investments your cash inside minutes throughout market hours while you’re able to construct long-term wealth. And because you get entry to a debit card and 19,000 free ATMs, your money is at all times out there in your phrases. Briefly, the Wealthfront Money Account isn’t a checking account — it’s one thing a lot, significantly better.
