A husband and wife met with us a couple times and they’re ready to become our client. P&A has checked the boxes for a simple pricing structure, a fiduciary relationship, and full transparency. They’re also drawn to our financial planning services and being able to easily access the monies in their account, which they refer to as the “Mother Load.” This account will be the lynchpin of their net worth, the traffic cop for all their transactions, and their main source of monthly income.
“What’s next?” they ask. “Paperwork,” offers Elizabeth, who jumps up and delivers the necessary forms from her desk. New account forms, transfer forms, and a MoneyLink form.
What is a MoneyLink?
This is a Charles Schwab product that allows P&A to facilitate electronic money movements between our new clients’ joint checking account and their Schwab Mother Load joint account (and vice versa). No fees, no muss, no fuss, and the money arrives in their account the next business day.
To establish a MoneyLink, Schwab requires a voided check and a signed form. For P&A to facilitate a MoneyLink transfer, the involved accounts must be same name to same name (joint account to joint account, individual to individual, etc.). When the account plating doesn’t match, the client can still facilitate money transfers themselves through the Schwab Alliance website.
A MoneyLink in action
Flash forward a few years and our clients are having dinner with their son and daughter-in-law, whose washer just rolled snake eyes. The “white knight” syndrome appears out of nowhere.
“Let your mother and I buy you a new one!” offers the father.
“Wow dad……that would be great!”
The next morning the functionality of the MoneyLink takes centerstage:
“Good Morning…Pittenger & Anderson. How may I direct your call?”
“Hi, this is Harold Kuyper. Is Pitt around?”
“Nope…walleye opener in Minnesota.”
“How about Dan?”
“Golfing in the Sandhills.”
“Who can I talk to?”
“Shane is here.”
“Never met him…but put him on.”
“Morning, this is Shane.”
“Hi, Shane. This is Harold Kuyper and I’m in Toledo, Ohio, visiting my son and daughter-in-law. My wife and I want to buy them a new washer and dryer, but the only checkbook I have with me is from our personal checking account. Can you help me out?”
“Nice to meet you, Mr. Kuyper. Let me look at your account. Ok, I see you have a MoneyLink between your Schwab account and your checking account. How about I create $5,000 worth of liquidity in your account? Should be enough for a decent washer and dryer. You and your family can sort out the change and return the unused dollars to your Schwab account.”
“Maybe we should just make it $6,000…the money can go right back in, can’t it?”
“Sure thing.”
“Sounds good, Shane. When should I expect this money to be available?”
“The money will be in your account in a couple days, Mr. Kuyper. I sold a few shares of a mutual fund you own, so once the trades settle tomorrow, we’ll request a Moneylink to move the cash to your bank account. The money should then appear in your bank account next business day.”
“Terrific! Can I ask for you again?”
“Sure, happy to help anytime.”
“Dan and Pitt should give you a raise.”
“I know…they’re a couple of cheapskates.”
(Laughter from both ends.)
So now you should have a good sense of how the MoneyLink utility works and why we think it is so important. The longer you think about this story the easier it is to see that trust achieves fruition when the money comes back out…not when it goes into an investment account. The cement gets even harder when those dollars are earned by the investment account instead of being deposited in it.
If you are interested in learning more about MoneyLinks and their functionality, please give us a call – (402) 328-8800.
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Pittenger & Anderson, Inc. does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. This material has been prepared for informational purposes only, and is not intended to provide, and should not be relied on for, tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult your own tax, legal, and accounting advisors before engaging in any transaction.
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