Systematic withdrawals

A systematic withdrawal is a method of withdrawing a specific amount of funds from an investment account on a regular schedule. Systematic withdrawals are commonly used to provide a stream of income to retirees.

Once you set up a recurring monthly distribution with your custodian, Symplany will take care of the rest to ensure trades are placed that free up sufficient sweep in advance of the withdrawal.

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How Symplany manages systematic withdrawals

When you configure a recurring distribution with your custodian, your custodian shares that information with Symplany. Using this information, we will create a withdrawal activity that places trades 3 market days before your scheduled ACH withdrawal to ensure there is sufficient sweep in your FLD account.

How to set up distribution instructions with your custodian

The steps to set up a recurring distribution depend on the account type:

Non-qualified account (NetX)

Setting up a recurring distribution for a non-qualified account is as simple as creating periodic instructions. You can complete this in NetX yourself, or you can call the Service Desk for assistance. No client signature is required.

Menu in NetX where you can choose to set up Periodic Instructions

Qualified account (AdviceWorks)

Setting up a recurring distribution for a qualified account requires a client signature. Therefore, you must set up a Standard or Periodic Instruction in AdviceWorks®

Trades will then get placed automatically in your FLD account

After recurring distribution instructions have been processed, your custodian with notify Symplany and your FLD account will place trades in advance of any upcoming monthly distributions. Note the lozenge at the top of this account

Account with a scheduled systematic withdrawal

FAQ

Q: You mentioned "monthly" distributions. Does this feature work with other types of recurring distribution (e.g. semi-monthly, quarterly, annual, etc.)?

A: At this time, your FLD account will only places trades in advance of a monthly or annual distribution.

Q: In a multi-bucket account, where will the systematic withdrawal come from?

A: Systematic withdrawals come out of the top bucket first. In the screenshot below, your systematic withdrawal would come out of the Emergency Fund bucket.

An example of the multi-bucket feature investing portions of an account in different allocations.

If you want a systematic withdrawal to pull from a different bucket (e.g. Down Payment or Retirement), you would need to change the sequence of the buckets. Learn more here.

Q: What happens if there's pending activity in my FLD account?

A: Pending activities (e.g. a manual rebalance, automatic drift rebalance, another pending withdrawal, etc.) prevent automatic trades in advance of a systematic withdrawal. This could result in there being insufficient funds available for the withdrawal.

Q: Will I receive an email notification that the withdrawal is pending or completed?

A: No, systematic withdrawals are fully automated. After you've set up your ACH instructions, no further action is required.

Q: What if I want to cancel a systematic withdrawal?

A: Periodic distributions are configured with your custodian. Cancel your periodic instructions using NetX (regardless of account type!). After your recurring distribution instructions have been processed, your custodian with notify Symplany of any changes.