Welcome to Abacus!
We look forward to helping you expand what’s possible with money.
We work hard to take care of all the messy details so you don’t have to
We believe in making your financial life as easy as possible to navigate and manage. Our team is committed to your financial success and fulfillment. As our relationship grows, we ask you to please update us with any changes in your life circumstances or financial situation, or if you simply need our help or advice.
Return to this page for answers to commonly asked questions, or when you’re just not sure where to go. Here we’ll explore these six key areas outline below.
As your financial journey unfolds through the years, there will always be new questions. We love answering those questions and encourage you to reach out with anything that is on your mind. Thank you again for your trust, and welcome to the Abacus family.
When it comes to your finances, knowing who you need to talk to and who we need to talk to helps build our relationship together. Here is how it works:
Your Abacus Team
At Abacus, we work in teams, so you benefit from the enormous wealth of skills, knowledge, and heart that multiple advisors bring. With a robust support system in place, you can trust that someone well-versed in your financial plan will always be here. In addition to your primary advisor, you will have a team of Abacus Advisors and Client Service Associates supporting your financial journey.
Team Changes
As you progress on your journey with us, your advisory team may adapt and evolve to better serve your unique needs. We are always working with your best interests in mind and you will be informed of any changes before they happen. Your records are securely stored within Abacus so that any Abacus advisor can properly service your needs.
Trusted Contacts
To protect you and your financial assets, we recommend adding a trusted personal contact to the information we keep on file. This should be a person you trust to provide an informed and objective assessment about your current whereabouts, well-being, and overall health status.
Choosing a trusted contact does not give Abacus or that person any ability to make decisions or transactions on your account. A trusted contact will not have access to any information we have about you or be authorized to do anything on your behalf.
Although you can name anyone as your trusted contact, we suggest choosing someone who is not authorized to transact on your account (i.e., someone other than your spouse or Power of Attorney). Someone can only act in a decision-making capacity on your finances if they are a Power of Attorney. Please reach out to your Abacus advisor if you have further questions.
When you name a Trusted Contact, that person will be listed as someone we can reach out to unless you choose to remove them. Your advisor will review this selection with you annually. We highly recommend you inform your Trusted Contact that someone from Abacus may reach out to them should we ever feel concerned about your whereabouts or well-being. For more information about the role of a Trusted Contact, please talk with your advisor.
Naming Your Trusted Contact at Abacus vs Your Custodian
Please note, we only send you forms to set up a Trusted Contact directly with Abacus. You may also set up a trusted contact at your custodian should you desire. Remember, there may be additional restrictions when using a trusted contact with your custodian, including putting blocks or freezes on your accounts. Please contact your Abacus advisor if you have further questions.
Outside Professionals
Many of our clients prefer we connect directly with their outside professionals on financial matters. Typically we see this with tax preparers and estate attorneys. We can connect them to our file sharing system Box.com, as well as the Abacus Planning Portal. Your Abacus team can help you set this up.
Helpful Tip: Some outside professionals may or may not charge you fees for their time when working directly with us. Please be sure to talk with them about any questions regarding their fee structure.
At Abacus, the technology supporting you on your financial journey is foundational to your success. As you start this journey, your Abacus team will help you establish these technologies. Below are some key platforms you’ll have access to.
Pro Tip: Add a bookmark in your web browser for each of the websites linked below:
The Abacus Planning Portal, found on the Client Login page, lets you see your full money picture and get a snapshot of your finances in real time. You can safely and securely connect your outside accounts, keep track of your goals, spending, and much more. The Abacus Planning Portal Guide gives an overview of all key portal features.
Read: How to Connect My Accounts
Option to Share Spending Information – Privacy is essential at Abacus. By default, we are not allowed to see any of your transactions in the accounts you link. If you’d like to share your spending information with us so we can support your cash flow planning, your Abacus team can help set that up.
The Abacus Investment Portal is found on the Client Login page. This lets you track your investment performance in detail while also giving you access to your Abacus Quarterly Investment Statements, monthly custodial statements, and custodial tax documents.
Linking Your Investment Portal to Your Planning Portal – If you’d like to log in through one portal, we offer an easy way to link your Investment Portal to your Planning Portal. Reach out to your Abacus team or explore the Abacus Planning Portal Guide to find out how.
While you won’t need to log in directly with the custodian that holds your money, we do provide you with logins to receive electronic delivery of paperwork from the custodian. All of your financial statements will go into the Abacus Investment Portal.
Your Abacus team will provide you with all of the relevant login information to access your accounts. Here is a link on how to get started with the Schwab portal.
You and your advisory team will use Box.com to securely upload and share sensitive files. This is also where we’ll share files with any of your outside professionals.
How to set up Box.com: This step-by-step guide can help you get started.
Should I be worried if I don’t see my files anymore in the shared folder? Did they disappear? No, you don’t need to worry as this is normal. As we receive files from you, we typically move them into our internal filing system for our records. We are always happy to put a copy back into your shared folder for your own records.
Most documents you sign will come through the electronic signature provider DocuSign. You most likely used DocuSign when you first became an Abacus client.
Security Question Challenges or Phone-Based Verification – Due to the sensitive nature of information provided to custodians, you will be asked to complete a series of knowledge-based questions or provide a text message verification.
Whether it’s personal information changes, money withdrawals or transfers, rolling over retirement funds, or just resetting your password, here’s what to know about service requests:
Who to Contact
If you have a money request, feel free to reach out to your lead advisor or their team member via email or phone.
Money Timeframes
- Deposits – When depositing money, the time it takes for these funds to clear your bank account varies based on how the money was sent in. The general guidelines are:
- Checks: 7 business days
- ACH (Electronic Banking Instructions): 3 business days
- Wire: Same day
- Withdrawals – When requesting a withdrawal, there are two important timing factors to consider when receiving your funds: trading your investments to cash and transferring funds to your bank account. To be safe, we generally recommend making one-off requests a week in advance of when you need funds.
- Step 1 – Trading in Your Account
- When you request a withdrawal, we will commonly need to sell some of your investments to send you funds (we keep just enough money in your accounts to cover expenses and any normal distributions from these accounts). Here’s some important information to consider when making trades to satisfy your withdrawal request: The markets generally close at 1pm PST/4pm EST. After these times, we will not be able to liquidate any funds to complete trades that day. Once we have placed trades in your account, it typically takes 1 to 3 business days for your cash to become available for withdrawal.
In non-retirement accounts, while we do our best to minimize potential taxes, you may be subject to capital gains taxes when liquidating any of your holdings. Please speak to your lead advisor and tax advisor should you have any questions or concerns around taxes.
- When you request a withdrawal, we will commonly need to sell some of your investments to send you funds (we keep just enough money in your accounts to cover expenses and any normal distributions from these accounts). Here’s some important information to consider when making trades to satisfy your withdrawal request: The markets generally close at 1pm PST/4pm EST. After these times, we will not be able to liquidate any funds to complete trades that day. Once we have placed trades in your account, it typically takes 1 to 3 business days for your cash to become available for withdrawal.
- Step 2 – Sending You Funds
- Electronic Banking – Most clients receive funds through electronic banking by setting up standing banking instructions with their investment accounts. This typically takes 1 business day for you to receive funds into your bank account from the date of withdrawal. The cutoff time for sending funds to you is 1:30pm PST/4:30pm EST.
- Wiring to Your Bank – It’s possible to wire funds to your bank, however, it requires additional paperwork. This typically only happens when you wish to receive funds the same day as the funds are needed. Some banks will charge you to receive a wire. Please contact your bank if you have any questions. Our custodians do not charge wire fees but this can be subject to change in the future. The cutoff time for making a wire request is typically 10:30am PST/1:30pm EST.
- Sending You a Check – We are able to send you a check for your funds. This is rarely chosen by our clients and we recommend electronic banking or wire transfers instead. The timing around receiving your funds depends on the mailing choice you elect.
- Step 1 – Trading in Your Account
- Transfers – When moving investment accounts to Abacus, the time frame is contingent on several factors, but you can typically expect this process to take between 2 to 4 weeks. Should you have questions about an account transfer, it’s best to reach out to your lead advisor.
- Retirement Plan Rollovers – Prior to completing a rollover of any retirement plan to your Abacus account, please reach out to your advisor who will review your options and provide recommendations and instructions.
The time frame for rollovers is highly dependent on the plan provider and how quickly they are able to process your request. Please reach out to your plan provider and Abacus advisor for further information regarding your unique situation.
Standing Banking Instructions
To facilitate electronic transfers to and from your bank, we can provide standing banking instructions for most of your accounts. This simplifies future fund requests as you won’t be required to fill out additional paperwork or have to establish recurring deposits/withdrawals to and from your bank accounts.
If you ever change bank accounts, please contact your advisory team and update your banking instructions on file. If you do not inform Abacus, there is a chance that money requests for receiving or sending funds will be disrupted.
When changing bank accounts, you will also need to provide us with a voided check each time you change your account setup.
Checkwriting Information
When writing a check to your Abacus accounts, make sure they are made payable to the correct payee and sent to the correct address. Please reach out to your Abacus advisor for the correct check writing instructions.
Third-Party Money Movements
From time to time, you may need to transfer funds directly to or from your accounts involving a third party. For example, it’s a common situation to send money to an escrow account from your Abacus account to close on a home purchase. To make this a smooth process, please provide the following information as precisely as possible: payee, bank account information, amount to send, and any other important details that can help ensure funds are properly transferred to the correct payee.
To keep your accounts safe, when making a third-party money transfer request, you will be required to verify the request with our Abacus team or custodian via additional verification requirements. Please reach out to your Abacus team should a third-party money transfer request arise.
Important Deadlines
- Retirement Contributions
- When funding your retirement accounts, there are important general deadlines to be aware of:
- For Traditional/Rollover/Roth IRA/Health Savings Accounts (HSAs): Typically April 15th (or whenever your usual personal tax return deadline is).
- For SEP/Solo 401(k)/SIMPLE IRA: Your tax filing deadline (plus extensions for your business).
- Your Abacus advisor will be in touch with you to ensure your contributions are done on time. Should you have any questions about what deadlines you need to meet, please contact your Abacus advisor.
- When funding your retirement accounts, there are important general deadlines to be aware of:
- Retirement Account Required Minimum Distributions (RMDs)
- Some clients are subject to minimum distribution requirements from retirement accounts. This typically happens when you are over the age of 73 or if you have an inherited retirement account.
- The general deadline to take funds out is by December 31st of the year you’re required to make a distribution. Your Abacus advisor will guide you through this process and make sure you complete it by the deadline.
- Retirement Contributions
Life happens. If you change your contact information (address, phone number, email), employment, or even your name, please inform your Abacus team as soon as possible so we can assist you in keeping your records up to date.
If you need to reset your password for any technology used at Abacus, you can generally reset them through those websites directly. We’re always glad to help though if you need it, so just reach out. The only password you’ll definitely need our assistance with is the Abacus Investment Portal. Please contact us and we’ll be happy to help you reset it.
You will periodically receive statements and other communications throughout the year from Abacus and various financial institutions. Here are some helpful descriptions and guidance regarding these communications.
Each quarter, Abacus generates and electronically delivers a consolidated statement that summarizes your accounts, balances, holdings, and performance.
You will be notified by email when statements are available and you can retrieve them through the Abacus Investment Portal.
Each month, your custodian generates and delivers a statement for each account held through your custodians.
The custodian will notify you by email when statements are ready. You can access custodial statements directly through the custodian’s login or through your Abacus Investment Portal. Please note there can be a slight delay in seeing these statements in your Abacus Investment Portal.
From time to time, you may receive email or written communications from the custodian on your accounts. These communications typically include prospectuses of your investments, changes happening with your accounts, or trade confirmations for trades placed in your accounts.
While your Abacus advisor and tax professional will do all the heavy lifting, there are several things to be mindful of around your taxes.
You will generally get tax documents from your custodian based on the type of account you have at Abacus:
- For non-retirement accounts: Form 1099
- For individual retirement accounts: Form 1099-R, Form 5498
Abacus can also provide supplemental tax reporting to aid in your tax preparation. Please contact your Abacus advisory team if you need any additional support with tax reporting.
For non-retirement accounts, the tax documents from your custodian are typically sent around the middle of February through the end of March. Please note you may receive more than one version of Form 1099 after receiving your first one. This can happen when taxation corrections occur in various investments in your portfolio. If you have a tax preparer, please provide them any and all Form 1099s and corrected 1099 forms so they may accurately report taxes on your tax return.
Tax reports can be obtained directly from the custodian’s website or through the tax documents sections of your Abacus Investment Portal.
Privacy and security are extremely important to Abacus. From what data we collect, regular audits of ‘what’ and ‘how’ employees access this data, and our own security measures for how we operate and interact with our clients’ information, we work to ensure we’re taking every opportunity to reduce the data we keep on hand to only what is necessary. This includes the requirement that all employees only access data through encrypted computers using multi-factor authentication. Any communication between Abacus and the custodians we interact with is also encrypted.
Here are some tips regarding the best ways we can all communicate safely.
Safe: Typically, safe things you can share by email are partial account numbers, names, bank account titles, and addresses.
Unsafe: For your safety and security, please refrain from sharing full account numbers, personal identifying information (e.g. social security numbers or tax ID), and any files or attachments with sensitive information (e.g., tax returns, statements, and financial data).
When in doubt, please contact your Abacus team and provide the information verbally. If you need to upload files or attachments, please use the client file storage folder we have provided you.
While Abacus is your main point of contact, the custodians we use to manage investments are also held to the highest standards of security and privacy. Not only are these standards dictated and enforced by government regulation, they also maintain self-imposed guarantees for unauthorized access of clients’ accounts. Charles Schwab posts their information at schwab.com/schwabsafe .
All of our custodians provide $500,000 in general federal protection through the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Custodians provide additional extended insurance coverage in the case of custodian default. Our custodians also provide an asset guarantee in the unlikely event that fraud occurs in your account.
