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FAQ: Advisor Dashboard & Reporting

Frequently asked questions about the Advisor Dashboard and Reporting

By Ritu Malhotra

Business Development Manager, Betterment for Advisors |

Published Feb. 09, 2021 | Updated Sep. 23, 2022

FAQ: Advisor Dashboard & Reporting Sep 23, 2022 12:00:00 AM Frequently asked questions about the Advisor Dashboard and Reporting Does each advisor have their own dashboard? Yes, each advisor within your firm has their own account and dashboard that provides access to manage their clients’ accounts. Each client that signs up for an account is linked to one advisor within your firm. Can advisors share a household or client with other advisors? Yes, an advisor can assign secondary advisors to any of their households that contain one or many accounts. Secondary advisors have full access to those households, and can be removed at any time from a household’s sharing settings. Here are the steps you'll need to follow when adding a fellow advisor to one of your households: Log onto the Advisor Dashboard On the left, click "Clients" Select the client or household name from the list Select the "Settings" tab On the right, choose "+ Add Secondary Advisor" and enter the first or last name of the advisor you'd like to add. Click the name in the dropdown to complete. The page will load and if successful you'll see a banner with this description "Successfully added (name of advisor) as a secondary advisor to (name of client/household)". What actions can I take on behalf of my client? Advisors can securely co-browse into the client experience to manage individual client accounts. As the advisor, you can take the following actions on behalf of your clients: Add taxable goals Add joint taxable goals Access information on account balances and returns Create ad hoc deposits or withdrawals Schedule or turn off automatic deposits or withdrawals View portfolio details View portfolio performance Adjust allocations Adjust portfolio strategy Access account activity, statements, and tax forms Complete a Traditional IRA to Roth IRA conversion Currently, advisors are able to invite their existing clients to open new legal accounts from within the advisor dashboard by selecting the client's name and clicking "Add account". These accounts include new IRAs, trusts, and joint accounts. Can I add a new IRA or taxable goal for a joint account on behalf of my clients? Yes, we have instructions for opening joint accounts. Follow the same steps for new IRA accounts except on #4. Here you'll need to select the IRA type desired for this client. Can I add a trust account on behalf of my client? Advisors are able to add a trust account for any existing client with just a few clicks. If you’d like to open a trust account for a prospect you’ll first need to invite them to open an Individual Taxable or any of the three available IRA accounts. Once the client opens the account they’ll appear in the Clients tab of your Advisor Dashboard. Follow the steps below to invite them to open a trust account. Select the client's name from Clients Click Add Account Select the radio dial next to “ Trust” for the Account type screen and continue Confirm that this is a US domestic trust and continue The site will give you a chance to provide the trust name, information and documents. This is optional. If you do not provide either the client will have a chance to do so. Enter the account details, define the account purpose, choose the Portfolio Strategy and continue Set the portfolio allocation and continue Confirm the new account details and click send agreements when ready Be sure to review the Trust document requirements and advise the client to submit the correct items. The account will not be approved until these are provided and successfully reviewed. Note: The trust will not be visible in your advisor dashboard until your client consents to the agreements. Once required information and documents have been submitted, trust approval can take up to five business days to complete. You and the client will be notified of the review's outcome via email. Please let us know if you'd like any named trustees added to the account. How do I set a portfolio strategy for my client? For a new client: To define the initial account type and portfolio strategy please choose Invite Client > Complete on client's behalf Select the account type and purpose and continue Select your preferred portfolio strategy from the dropdown then set the target allocation Confirm your client’s details and send. For an existing, funded client on the platform: On the Client page of the advisor dashboard, click into the household (or client) in which you would like to make a portfolio strategy change. Scroll down to the goal on which you'd like to change the portfolio strategy and click the Edit button that corresponds to the portfolio as shown in the image below Select the portfolio strategy and the asset allocation. You can also view a tax impact preview of the change before implementing here. Confirm the portfolio strategy change. The system will automatically execute trades in a tax minimizing manner to reach the new target allocation. Am I able to access information related to my clients’ accounts on the platform? Yes, you are able to access information related to your clients’ accounts— including holdings, balances, and performance information—via the advisor dashboard. How do I remove a client's accounts from my firm? Please follow the steps below to remove the client from your firm's client list: Log onto the advisor dashboard Select the client from the Clients list Click Settings and scroll down to "Household Actions" Click "Remove this household" and complete the confirmation modal by checking the box and clicking "Remove Household" Reporting How do you calculate returns? We use a standard time-weighted return to calculate percentage returns for each goal on the Summary page, and to display returns over time on the Performance page. This return can be thought of as the amount one dollar would have changed if it was invested at the same time as a first deposit. The time-weighted return is unaffected by deposits to and withdrawals from an account, and allows for easy assessment of clients’ investments, and a fair comparison with other investments. Is performance data generated on the platform? Yes, performance reporting is embedded on the client interface. Performance reporting for all client portfolios on the platform is available and the user can select the period of time in question. Additionally, daily performance is also included. Advisors are able to view performance data for all client accounts through the impersonation feature on the advisor dashboard. How are statements sent to my clients? Can I access these statements as well? If so, how? Statements are automatically loaded to your clients’ portals. We also send your clients an email once their statements are ready. You can access your clients’ statements via the impersonation feature on the advisor dashboard. On the “Summary” page, select the “Log in” button next to the client that you want to view statements for. Once logged in as the client, select the “Documents” tab. A full archive of your client’s statements is available on the “Statements” sub-tab. Does Betterment for Advisors generate the tax forms for my clients’ accounts? Yes, tax forms for your clients are automatically imported to their client portals. We will also notify your clients via email when these are ready. Where do clients find tax forms if they have multiple accounts, e.g. a personal account and a trust account? Tax forms are available on the Documents page for each account a client holds on the “Taxes” sub-tab. If clients have multiple accounts, they will need to visit the Documents page for each separate account in order to download their respective tax forms. Where can I find my clients’ 5498 tax forms? When will they be available? Your clients will receive a 5498 form if they had an IRA with a non-zero balance in the tax year that just concluded. This form reports all of the IRA contributions for the previous tax year, including rollovers. The information on the 5498 form will also be reported to the IRS. The 5498 tax form can be found on the Taxes page within the Advisor Dashboard. Select your client's name then click "Taxes". You may also access it via the Documents page in the client portal. Generally this form will be made available each May for the prior year, after the April 15 tax filing deadline. When will clients' tax forms be available? Your clients’ 1099 tax forms are automatically imported to their client portals in mid-February, in both CSV and PDF formats. We will notify them via email when these are ready. The forms are not available prior to February due to the 30-day window related to certain TLH+ requirements, which carry through the end of January. Additionally, we need final confirmations on distributions from fund providers regarding their dividend payout classifications. Betterment strives to provide tax forms well in advance of the deadline when possible. Are the monthly statements co-branded with my firm’s brand? Yes, monthly statements are co-branded with your firm’s brand. What information appears on my clients’ statements? Holdings, balances, and transactions related to your clients’ accounts appear on your clients’ statements. Does Betterment for Advisors generate the statements for my client’s accounts? Yes, statements are automatically loaded to your clients’ portals. We also send your clients an email once their statements are ready.

Does each advisor have their own dashboard?

Yes, each advisor within your firm has their own account and dashboard that provides access to manage their clients’ accounts. Each client that signs up for an account is linked to one advisor within your firm.

Can advisors share a household or client with other advisors?

Yes, an advisor can assign secondary advisors to any of their households that contain one or many accounts. Secondary advisors have full access to those households, and can be removed at any time from a household’s sharing settings.

Here are the steps you'll need to follow when adding a fellow advisor to one of your households:

Log onto the Advisor Dashboard
On the left, click "Clients"
Select the client or household name from the list
Select the "Settings" tab
On the right, choose "+ Add Secondary Advisor" and enter the first or last name of the advisor you'd like to add. Click the name in the dropdown to complete.
The page will load and if successful you'll see a banner with this description "Successfully added (name of advisor) as a secondary advisor to (name of client/household)".

What actions can I take on behalf of my client?

Advisors can securely co-browse into the client experience to manage individual client accounts. As the advisor, you can take the following actions on behalf of your clients:

Add taxable goals
Add joint taxable goals
Access information on account balances and returns
Create ad hoc deposits or withdrawals
Schedule or turn off automatic deposits or withdrawals
View portfolio details
View portfolio performance
Adjust allocations
Adjust portfolio strategy
Access account activity, statements, and tax forms
Complete a Traditional IRA to Roth IRA conversion

Currently, advisors are able to invite their existing clients to open new legal accounts from within the advisor dashboard by selecting the client's name and clicking "Add account". These accounts include new IRAs, trusts, and joint accounts.

Can I add a new IRA or taxable goal for a joint account on behalf of my clients?

Yes, we have instructions for opening joint accounts. Follow the same steps for new IRA accounts except on #4. Here you'll need to select the IRA type desired for this client.

Can I add a trust account on behalf of my client?

Advisors are able to add a trust account for any existing client with just a few clicks. If you’d like to open a trust account for a prospect you’ll first need to invite them to open an Individual Taxable or any of the three available IRA accounts. Once the client opens the account they’ll appear in the Clients tab of your Advisor Dashboard. Follow the steps below to invite them to open a trust account.

Select the client's name from Clients
Click Add Account
Select the radio dial next to “ Trust” for the Account type screen and continue
Confirm that this is a US domestic trust and continue
The site will give you a chance to provide the trust name, information and documents. This is optional. If you do not provide either the client will have a chance to do so.
Enter the account details, define the account purpose, choose the Portfolio Strategy and continue
Set the portfolio allocation and continue
Confirm the new account details and click send agreements when ready
Be sure to review the Trust document requirements and advise the client to submit the correct items. The account will not be approved until these are provided and successfully reviewed.

Note: The trust will not be visible in your advisor dashboard until your client consents to the agreements. Once required information and documents have been submitted, trust approval can take up to five business days to complete. You and the client will be notified of the review's outcome via email. Please let us know if you'd like any named trustees added to the account.

How do I set a portfolio strategy for my client?

For a new client:

To define the initial account type and portfolio strategy please choose Invite Client > Complete on client's behalf
Select the account type and purpose and continue
Select your preferred portfolio strategy from the dropdown then set the target allocation
Confirm your client’s details and send.

For an existing, funded client on the platform:

On the Client page of the advisor dashboard, click into the household (or client) in which you would like to make a portfolio strategy change.
Scroll down to the goal on which you'd like to change the portfolio strategy and click the Edit button that corresponds to the portfolio as shown in the image below
Select the portfolio strategy and the asset allocation. You can also view a tax impact preview of the change before implementing here.
Confirm the portfolio strategy change.
The system will automatically execute trades in a tax minimizing manner to reach the new target allocation.

Am I able to access information related to my clients’ accounts on the platform?

Yes, you are able to access information related to your clients’ accounts— including holdings, balances, and performance information—via the advisor dashboard.

How do I remove a client's accounts from my firm?

Please follow the steps below to remove the client from your firm's client list:

Log onto the advisor dashboard
Select the client from the Clients list
Click Settings and scroll down to "Household Actions"
Click "Remove this household" and complete the confirmation modal by checking the box and clicking "Remove Household"

Reporting

How do you calculate returns?

We use a standard time-weighted return to calculate percentage returns for each goal on the Summary page, and to display returns over time on the Performance page. This return can be thought of as the amount one dollar would have changed if it was invested at the same time as a first deposit.

The time-weighted return is unaffected by deposits to and withdrawals from an account, and allows for easy assessment of clients’ investments, and a fair comparison with other investments.

Is performance data generated on the platform?

Yes, performance reporting is embedded on the client interface. Performance reporting for all client portfolios on the platform is available and the user can select the period of time in question. Additionally, daily performance is also included. Advisors are able to view performance data for all client accounts through the impersonation feature on the advisor dashboard.

How are statements sent to my clients? Can I access these statements as well? If so, how?

Statements are automatically loaded to your clients’ portals. We also send your clients an email once their statements are ready.

You can access your clients’ statements via the impersonation feature on the advisor dashboard. On the “Summary” page, select the “Log in” button next to the client that you want to view statements for. Once logged in as the client, select the “Documents” tab. A full archive of your client’s statements is available on the “Statements” sub-tab.

Does Betterment for Advisors generate the tax forms for my clients’ accounts?

Yes, tax forms for your clients are automatically imported to their client portals. We will also notify your clients via email when these are ready.

Where do clients find tax forms if they have multiple accounts, e.g. a personal account and a trust account?

Tax forms are available on the Documents page for each account a client holds on the “Taxes” sub-tab. If clients have multiple accounts, they will need to visit the Documents page for each separate account in order to download their respective tax forms.

Where can I find my clients’ 5498 tax forms? When will they be available?

Your clients will receive a 5498 form if they had an IRA with a non-zero balance in the tax year that just concluded. This form reports all of the IRA contributions for the previous tax year, including rollovers. The information on the 5498 form will also be reported to the IRS.

The 5498 tax form can be found on the Taxes page within the Advisor Dashboard. Select your client's name then click "Taxes". You may also access it via the Documents page in the client portal. Generally this form will be made available each May for the prior year, after the April 15 tax filing deadline.

When will clients' tax forms be available?

Your clients’ 1099 tax forms are automatically imported to their client portals in mid-February, in both CSV and PDF formats. We will notify them via email when these are ready.

The forms are not available prior to February due to the 30-day window related to certain TLH+ requirements, which carry through the end of January. Additionally, we need final confirmations on distributions from fund providers regarding their dividend payout classifications. Betterment strives to provide tax forms well in advance of the deadline when possible.

Are the monthly statements co-branded with my firm’s brand?

Yes, monthly statements are co-branded with your firm’s brand.

What information appears on my clients’ statements?

Holdings, balances, and transactions related to your clients’ accounts appear on your clients’ statements.

Does Betterment for Advisors generate the statements for my client’s accounts?

Yes, statements are automatically loaded to your clients’ portals. We also send your clients an email once their statements are ready.