What are Smart Transfers?
Smart Transfers are available for M1 Plus users with an open M1 Spend account.
Smart Transfers allow you to create “Overbalance" or "Underbalance" Smart Transfers, or sweeps between your M1 Spend, taxable Invest accounts and IRA's, there are three types of transfers that can be created.
1. M1 Spend Overbalance - Set a maximum cash balance for your Spend account and automatically transfer the excess into an Invest account.
2. M1 Spend Underbalance - Automatically refill your Spend account when it falls under a certain balance.
3. M1 Invest Cash Overbalance - Set a maximum cash balance for your Invest account and automatically transfer the excess cash into another one of your M1 accounts.
Note: Users can pay back an outstanding principal balance in an eligible Borrow account by using Smart Transfers. Users can also select an eligible Borrow account to borrow from when their Spend balance falls below a certain level by using the Smart Transfers Spend Underbalance. Retirement accounts can only participate in overbalance Smart Transfers (no under-balance features). IRAs always have a built-in endpoint of “until the yearly contribution limit is reached,” but can set an additional endpoint on top of it (e.g. “no more than $1,000 a week”). M1 Borrow is only available for margin accounts with a balance of at least $10,000 and does not apply to retirement accounts.
The following steps and example's will be for a Spend Overbalance. To create an overbalance transfer:
- Selecting a source account (Spend, taxable Invest or IRA) to monitor for a specific cash balance,
- Selecting the balance amount that will trigger a Smart Transfer, and
- Choosing the destination to send the funds over your set balance (Spend or taxable Invest).
The Smart Transfers rule will run every time your source account’s cash exceeds the selected threshold, and the cash will be swept from the source account to the destination account.
It’s important to note that Overbalance Smart Transfers allow for the automated movement of cash; Smart Transfers will not sell securities in a taxable Invest account in order to transfer money to Spend. Furthermore, the threshold you input is for the cash balance of the account, not the total account value.
If your source account’s cash balance ever is below your chosen threshold, the Smart Transfer will stop temporarily until you’re over that threshold again, and then the rule will automatically restart.
Sweeps will generally follow the same transfer timing as other ACH transfers. You can learn more about transfer timing here.
Example 1: Spend to Invest
Sam doesn’t need more than $1,000 in his checking account, and he’d rather contribute the rest to his Invest account and get maximum exposure to the market. Up to now, he’d need to monitor his account and do one-time transfers anytime he noticed he was over the $1,000 in Spend. With Smart Transfers, Sam can set a up a rule that automatically directs any excess cash above $1,000 in Spend to Invest. This rule will always be on and it will continue doing its job until Sam edits, deletes or pauses it.
Example 2: Invest to Spend
When Kelly’s Invest account builds up idle cash from dividends or proceeds from sell orders, she’d like to move that cash from Invest to Spend with a one-time transfer. Kelly can set up a Smart Transfers rule that directs any excess cash in Invest to Spend. This will happen automatically, and she will be earning the APY in Spend as soon as it becomes available.
The following steps and example's will be for a Spend Underbalance. To create an underbalance transfer:
- Selecting a source account (Spend, taxable Invest or IRA) to monitor for a specific cash balance,
- Selecting the balance amount that will trigger a Smart Transfer, and
- Choosing the destination to send the funds over your set balance (Spend or taxable Invest).
The Smart Transfers rule will run every time your source account’s cash is less than the selected threshold, and the cash will be swept from the source account to the destination account.
It is important to note that Underbalance Smart Transfers allow for the automated movement of cash; Smart Transfers will not sell securities in a taxable Invest account in order to transfer money to Spend. Furthermore, the threshold you input is for the cash balance of the account, not the total account value.
Sweeps will generally follow the same transfer timing as other ACH transfers. You can learn more about transfer timing here.
Example 1: Spend to Invest
Sam wants to have more than $1,000 in his checking account, and he’d like to cover the difference using Borrow. Up to now, he’d need to monitor his account and do one-time transfers anytime he noticed he was under the $1,000 in Spend. With Smart Transfers, Sam can set a up a rule that automatically Borrows to keep the account at $1,000 from Borrow to Spend. This rule will always be on and it will continue doing its job until Sam edits, deletes or pauses it.
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How Can I Create Smart Transfers?
M1 Plus users with an open M1 Spend account can set up Smart Transfers by following the instructions below:
Step 1) Starting under the Transfers tab, click the “Move Money” button.
Step 2) Select “Smart Transfer” from the list of Transfer types.
Step 3) Select the type of Smart Transfer you would like to establish. This will be the source account that excess cash will be transferred from.
Step 4) Select the balance to trigger the transfer and a destination account. Remember, any cash exceeding your inputted balance will be swept from your source account to your destination account.
Step 5) Once you’re done inputting your details, click “Create Smart Transfer.”
Step 6) Review your Smart Transfer, and if everything looks correct, click Confirm!
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How Can I View/Edit/Pause/Delete My Smart Transfers?
You can view previous and pending Smart Transfer activity, as well as edit or pause a Smart Transfer by:
Starting under the Transfers tab. Locate and click on the Smart Transfer you want to view.
To edit your Smart Transfer, click the edit button in the top right corner, make your changes, click “update,” and be sure to save/confirm them.
To pause your Smart Transfer, toggle the “Enable Smart Transfer” switch at the top of the screen to “off.”
To delete your Smart Transfer, click the “Edit” button in the top right corner then click the “Delete” button in the top right-hand corner. Make sure you confirm your changes.
Want to learn more about Smart Transfers? Please see the following video to learn more about how they work.