Goals

We want to help you create a personalized financial plan based on your investment goals. In each of your taxable legal accounts, you can set multiple goals with different timeframes and target amounts. A legal account is like an umbrella that holds multiple goals. Account numbers are usually assigned to the legal account itself. A Betterment goal is a specific financial target set within a legal account. It's a clear aim for allocating funds, each with its own investment strategy. In short, a ...

Our Emergency Fund goal is intended to help you save and invest funds that can be used for a future emergency or unexpected expense. As a general rule of thumb, your Emergency Fund should contain enough money to cover your basic expenses for a minimum of 3 months. While we never recommend going below 3 months, it may be appropriate to have a larger Emergency Fund depending on your situation or preference. We recommend keeping your emergency fund in one of two places: cash - more specifically a ...

Our “General Investing” goal does not require a defined target date or amount. By default, we’ll select an allocation appropriate for your age, with a maximum of 90% stocks and a minimum of 55% stocks. You can always adjust the specific allocation yourself. However, keep in mind that goal-based investing can work better when you designate timelines and target amounts, so that we can advise you on what you’ll need to do so you can keep saving and growing your money.

Connecting your external investment accounts—such as 401(k)s, IRAs, and taxable accounts held at other institutions—helps us give you better investment advice. In addition to investment accounts, you can also connect debt accounts, such as mortgages and loans. This helps you see your overall financial picture, putting you more in control of your wealth. Your connected account data is updated automatically, to help you know where you stand. To Connect External Accounts: Web Browser: Log in to ...

Once you've set up your goals, it's important to periodically review and update them to ensure they align with your real-life goals. If you need to make changes to a goal, such as updating the end date or target amount, follow these instructions: On a web browser: Select the goal from the left menu, then click the "Settings" tab. Here, you can edit your goal details. In the mobile app: Select the goal from the home page, then tap "Settings" in the upper right corner. Here, you can edit goal ...

Our automated advice tools continuously track portfolio performance for each of your goals, and we’ll indicate whether you will reach your goal’s target amount if there is average market performance. Your portfolio performance is categorized as either “On-Track” or “Off-Track” depending on whether you are likely to reach your target or not. Portfolio performance is “Off-Track” when the projected value of your portfolio in the future—the current balance plus future contributions plus investment ...

You can transfer between two individual investing goals, between two joint investing goals, or between an individual investing goal and a joint investing goal—each once per day. Transfers between goals typically take 1-2 business days to complete. You can transfer between an individual investment goal and your individual Cash Reserve, or between a joint investment goal and your joint Cash Reserve—up to 5 times per day. These transactions generally take 1-2 business days to complete. Within ...