In June 2021 Wealthsimple transferred its existing US customer accounts to Betterment. The account transfer involved (i) the assignment by Wealthsimple US, Ltd., an SEC registered investment adviser, of each customer’s investment advisory agreement and account to Betterment LLC, an SEC registered investment adviser, and (ii) the transfer of each customer’s related brokerage account from Apex Clearing Corporation, an SEC registered broker-dealer and FINRA member clearing firm, to MTG LLC d/b/a Betterment Securities, an SEC registered broker-dealer and FINRA member.
Betterment emailed former Wealthsimple customers on or around March 22, 2023 and advised them that their Wealthsimple portfolio would be automatically migrated to a Betterment portfolio strategy if they did not take certain action with respect to their account. Beginning on April 26, 2023, any Wealthsimple portfolios remaining on Betterment’s platform were migrated to a similar Betterment portfolio strategy. The Wealthsimple-to-Betterment portfolio mapping is described in the sections below.
The migration event was subject to potential tax consequences, including short-term capital gains taxes. Betterment will continue to provide discretionary investment advisory services in connection with the management of migrated accounts. This will involve, among other things, account rebalancing, which may result in the realization of taxable gains due to the purchase and sale of securities.
To see tax forms for your account, log in to Betterment from a web browser, and select Documents > Taxes. Betterment strongly recommends that Wealthsimple customers who are concerned about the tax implications seek the advice of a qualified tax professional.
If you were a Wealthsimple customer in the US and have not claimed your Betterment account or are having issues logging in, please contact our support team here.
Wealthsimple Investing to Betterment Core
If you were previously invested in a Wealthsimple Investing portfolio, your holdings were converted to a Betterment Core portfolio strategy, with a risk allocation (i.e. stock to bond ratio) based on your prior Wealthsimple risk level and whether your account is a taxable or tax-deferred investing account.
| Wealthsimple Risk Level | Wealthsimple Investing Taxable Account Stock Allocation |
Betterment Core |
| Level 1 | 33% | 29% |
| Level 2 | 38% | 31% |
| Level 3 | 43% | 34% |
| Level 4 | 53% | 41% |
| Level 5 | 63% | 48% |
| Level 6 | 68% | 53% |
| Level 6.5 | 73% | 58% |
| Level 7 | 78% | 62% |
| Level 8 | 83% | 67% |
| Level 9 | 88% | 71% |
| Level 10 | 93% | 76% |
| Level 10.5 | 98% | 77% |
| Level 11 | 100% | 86% |
| Wealthsimple Risk Level | Wealthsimple Investing Tax-Deferred Account Stock Allocation |
Betterment Core |
| Level 1 | 33% | 29% |
| Level 2 | 38% | 31% |
| Level 3 | 43% | 34% |
| Level 4 | 53% | 41% |
| Level 5 | 63% | 48% |
| Level 6 | 68% | 53% |
| Level 6.5 | 73% | 58% |
| Level 7 | 78% | 62% |
| Level 8 | 83% | 67% |
| Level 9 | 88% | 71% |
| Level 10 | 93% | 76% |
| Level 10.5 | 98% | 77% |
| Level 11 | 100% | 86% |
Wealthsimple SRI to Betterment SRI Broad
If you were previously invested in a Wealthsimple Socially Responsible portfolio, your holdings were converted to a Betterment Broad Impact SRI portfolio strategy, with a risk allocation (i.e. stock to bond ratio) based on your prior Wealthsimple risk level and whether your account is a taxable or tax-deferred investing account.
|
Wealthsimple Risk Level |
Wealthsimple SRI |
Betterment Broad Impact SRI Taxable Account Stock Allocation |
| Level 1 | 33% | 29% |
| Level 2 | 38% | 31% |
| Level 3 | 43% | 34% |
| Level 4 | 53% | 41% |
| Level 5 | 63% | 48% |
| Level 6 | 68% | 53% |
| Level 6.5 | 73% | 58% |
| Level 7 | 78% | 62% |
| Level 8 | 83% | 67% |
| Level 9 | 88% | 71% |
| Level 10 | 93% | 76% |
| Level 10.5 | 98% | 77% |
| Level 11 | 100% | 86% |
|
Wealthsimple Risk Level |
Wealthsimple SRI |
Betterment Broad Impact SRI Tax-Deferred Account Stock Allocation |
| Level 1 | 33% | 29% |
| Level 2 | 38% | 31% |
| Level 3 | 43% | 34% |
| Level 4 | 53% | 41% |
| Level 5 | 63% | 48% |
| Level 6 | 68% | 53% |
| Level 6.5 | 73% | 58% |
| Level 7 | 78% | 62% |
| Level 8 | 83% | 67% |
| Level 9 | 88% | 71% |
| Level 10 | 93% | 76% |
| Level 10.5 | 98% | 77% |
| Level 11 | 100% | 86% |
Wealthsimple Save to a Betterment Core
If you were previously invested in a Wealthsimple Save portfolio (an interest-bearing cash product), your holdings were converted to a Betterment Core portfolio strategy. Betterment does not hold cash in investing accounts, so your Wealthsimple Save holdings were converted to a predominantly bond investing portfolio with a conservative expected return and risk profile.
| Wealthsimple Save Taxable Account Stock Allocation |
Betterment Core Taxable Account Stock Allocation |
|
| Wealthsimple Save | 0% | 3% |
| Wealthsimple Save Tax-Deferred Account Stock Allocation |
Betterment Core Tax-Deferred Account Stock Allocation |
|
| Wealthsimple Save | 0% | 3% |
Wealthsimple Halal
If you previously held a Wealthsimple Halal portfolio, your portfolio strategy and holdings were converted during the initial June 12th, 2021 transfer event cited above, given it contained assets that were unsupported by Betterment. If your previous Wealthsimple Halal portfolio was in a Taxable account, assets were liquidated to cash. If your previous Wealthsimple Halal portfolio was in a Tax-deferred account, assets were converted into a Betterment Core portfolio strategy with a 100% bond allocation.
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