+ What types of investment accounts can AlphaGlider manage?
AlphaGlider supports taxable, traditional IRA, Roth IRA, SEP-IRA, SIMPLE IRA, Individual 401(k), health savings account (HSA), trust, guardian, and limited partnership accounts at Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. (“Schwab”), the largest brokerage firms providing custody services to independent investment advisors like AlphaGlider. Schwab is not affiliated with AlphaGlider.
If you maintain at least one of the aforementioned accounts, we can also manage 529 education savings plans that are custodied at my529, Utah's low-cost 529 plan provider that offers access to a large menu of Vanguard mutual funds.1 my529 is not affiliated with AlphaGlider.
+ What types of charges can I expect when investing with AlphaGlider?
Your non-529 investments are held at Schwab. Your account will be held solely in your name and AlphaGlider will only have limited authority to trade the account and to deduct our quarterly advisory fee. Schwab does not charge an annual fee on its investment accounts, nor does it charge commissions on exchange-trade fund (ETF) trades, but does apply customary charges on various services such as fund and wire transfers.
Your 529 plan investments are held at the my529. They will be held solely in your name and AlphaGlider will only have limited authority to trade the account. my529 charges an Administrative Asset Fee (529 accounts only) which amounts to 0.13% of assets annually, charged monthly. All mutual fund trades at my529 are commission-free.
+ I don't live in Utah. Can I still invest in the my529 program?
You don't need to be a Utah resident or taxpayer to open a my529 account — you can invest in any 529 plan and still enjoy the same federal tax benefits. You should determine if the state in which you or your beneficiary pay taxes or live offers a 529 plan that provides state tax or other benefits not offered to you by investing in a my529 account. Forty-nine states and the District of Columbia currently offer at least one 529 plan.
+ I don't live in Utah and I own a 529 account in my home state. Can AlphaGlider advise my 529?
AlphaGlider only advises 529 accounts held at my529. We chose to work solely with the my529 plan because of its wide selection of low-cost Vanguard mutual funds, its reasonable administrative asset fee, and its ability to interface with our portfolio management software.
The good news for you is that you are able to transfer your current 529 or Coverdell education savings account to UESP. You will directly work with my529 to set up and fund your 529. Once this is completed, we will provide you with a form to complete that will authorize AlphaGlider to trade your my529 account.
+ Is my Schwab investment account safe?
AlphaGlider does not have access to the funds in your Schwab account other than the ability to trade within the account, debit the account for our quarterly advisory fee, and transfer funds to other accounts in your name that you preauthorized.
Schwab is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). Securities in your account are protected up to $500,000. For details, please see www.sipc.org.
+ What would happen to my investment accounts if AlphaGlider were to be acquired or cease to do business?
You are the sole owner of your investment accounts at Schwab and my529. If AlphaGlider were to cease to do business for any reason, you would continue to be the sole owner of your Schwab and my529 investment accounts.
Our investment advisory agreement allows either party to terminate the agreement with 30 days written notice, at any time, and for any reason.
+ Where can I view my accounts online?
You have secure access to all of your Schwab and my529 investment account data in your AlphaGlider Planning account. Your Schwab accounts are also viewable on Schwab's website and mobile app. Your my529 accounts are viewable on my529's website.
+ What information on my investment accounts is available on Schwab's website and mobile app?
The following information and services are available on Schwab's website and mobile app:
- current account positions and values
- detailed cost basis information, realized and unrealized capital gains
- account activity
- monthly Schwab account statements (email notification when a new statement is available)
- trade confirmations (email notification when a new confirmation is available)
- tax forms
- change password and contact information
Be sure to disable your pop-up blocker when accessing your documents online.
+ Can I view my investment account information on a smartphone or tablet?
Absolutely. You can also view your investment account information on Schwab's mobile app as well as AlphaGlider's mobile apps (see links in footer for the latter).
+ How and when will I receive Schwab account statements and trade confirmations?
For the sake of cost, convenience, security, and the environment, we recommend that you receive Schwab statements and trade confirmations electronically. However, we recognize that there may be circumstances when paper documents make more sense. To offset the additional printing and mailing costs for paper documents, AlphaGlider will charge you $10/month to receive paper documents. Electronically delivered documents from both Schwab and AlphaGlider are free.
Schwab provides trade confirmations and monthly statements for each of your investment accounts. For those that select electronic delivery, Schwab will email you when they are available in your account on the Schwab webstie.
AlphaGlider statements are provided quarterly, typically within two weeks after the end of each calendar quarter. We will email you when it is available in your AlphaGlider Planning account.
+ Will AlphaGlider rebalance2 my investment account?
Absolutely. We continuously monitor your Schwab and my529 accounts to detect when positions stray far enough from their target allocation to justify rebalancing. We consider the potential for realizing capital gains when setting tolerance bands around each position size. Positions outside their tolerance band will be increased or sold down to bring them back inline with their target allocation.
We consider rebalancing to be a simple, yet essential practice in controlling portfolio risk. Without rebalancing, a holding that does well relative to other holdings grows to an outsized position just as it provides a less attractive risk-reward proposition due to its higher valuation. Likewise, a holding that does relatively poorly shrinks to an undersized position just as it provides a more attractive risk-reward proposition.
Holdings that perform well above what their fundamentals justify will not only be sold down by our rebalancing process, but their weightings in our strategies may also be reduced if their higher prices cause a deterioration in their risk-reward tradeoff. Conversely, our strategies may allocate more to holdings that have been oversold to a point that their risk-reward tradeoff is significantly improved. This is where AlphaGlider’s active investment management differs greatly from passive investment strategies which by definition maintain or increase their weightings to positions that have increased in price.
+ Will AlphaGlider call me before trading my account?
No. AlphaGlider operates with trading discretion on your investment account, allowing us to trade without contacting you beforehand. This enables us to make timely trades without delay. AlphaGlider will email you about our thinking behind major changes to the fund allocations within your strategy.
+ Will I be notified when AlphaGlider rebalances my portfolio or make other changes?
Yes, you will receive an email from Schwab alerting you to trades that occurred in your investment accounts, usually the same day.
+ Can I get duplicate statements sent to my employer?
Yes, you will be able request Schwab to send duplicate paper statements and trading confirmations to a third party for compliance purposes.
Still have questions? Please chat us (bottom left), call us on +1 415 967 8047, or email us at info@alphaglider.com.