Ability to contribute to Savings Goals from investment accounts [edited] (4 Merged Votes)

under_crtl

I have part of my savings in the stock market. I think I should be able to account for those assets when I analyze my savings goals. It seems like now I cannot contribute to a goal from my brokerage account

Coach Tappan

@under_crtl That's a great suggestion! Right now, our Investments module is being upgraded to provide a lot of new services and features, and we appreciate any comments on ways to make it better. The Savings Goals function doesn't actually move any money from one account to another, just asks as a reminder of a pledge you've made to set aside funds, but you should be able to designate your brokerage accounts when you set up a savings goal.

under_crtl

Any update on this? I have a significant part of my savings in a brokerage account, so the savings goal feature is not very helpful/meaningful. I guess other users might benefit from this too.
Thanks

Coach Nicole

Hi @under_crtl,

Thanks for reaching out! Sadly, this feature request is still under consideration, so we don't have an ETA. Once we have more info, we'll post on this thread.

Thanks,
Coach Nicole

under_crtl

Thanks Nicole for the update. This should be very straightforward to implement though, it probably involves a minor change in the back-end, just adding brokerage account to the account types you can contribute to a savings goal. I don’t understand what was the logic to exclude brokerage accounts in the first place, they are a common account type where people put their savings. This was probably overlooked. Moreover, rather than a feature request I would argue this is something that is not working as designed. Did you exclude brokerage accounts intentionally when this was designed?

jsy42

It would at least be nice to create Savings Goals with Investment type accounts. However, Savings goals currently only accept 'Savings' accounts.

Thats_MrHope

It'd be great to be able to have investment accounts considered for Savings goals, as many folks have "goal money" there. Also, you should also consider having the ability to add more than one account to a goal (similar to Mint).

Coach Natalie

Hello @jsy42 & @Thats_MrHope,

Thanks for posting! I have gone ahead and merged both of your posts with an existing Idea thread for this same feature request.

Please be sure to add your votes, everyone!

-Coach Natalie

whorneff310

I'd like to see this used. It really doesn't make sense to not count savings in Retirement accounts if you are making a retirement savings goal.

stampejd

Currently, I can only link my savings goals to banking accounts, but I want the ability to link the goal to any account that I have. Even multiple accounts so that their total is compared to the savings goal

DavidM

I too desire to have my brokerage account be considered for my savings goals. Having cash lying around for it is expensive! for a savings goal of 25k (a year of expenses for me) will cost me $750 in inflationary costs. My plan is to have it invested in a market index, so I can earn money on my emergency fund, and also avoid inflationary costs.

For more practical stuff, you could track just the transactions used to fund the account, instead of the account itself if the variability is the problem. That would be fine with me.

cuevasclemente

I would also like to express interest in this feature. It seems like it should be a consideration when incorporating investment accounts that some of those investment accounts could be considered liquid enough to contribute to savings goals as having a brokerage account with money put aside for mid-term savings goals like vacations is not uncommon.

So far it's been a bit challenging working with the investment features in Simplfi and as a user who is not yet fully committed to the platform and trying some different personal finance tools, I feel like the fact that managing investments is a bit awkward is something that makes me less enthusiastic about Simplifi.

Jared

Just chiming in to say that I would like to have this feature so I can track my 529 plan as a part of my goal to save for college.

rs757

My primary reason for using Simplifi was the ability to track savings goals, so I was disappointed to learn that brokerage accounts could not be tied to them.

cerebralvision

Any update on this? Really need this feature to be added for those who budget for dollar-cost averaging into investment accounts.

Coach Natalie

No update at this time @cerebralvision, however, please be sure to follow along here for future updates.

-Coach Natalie

alertoroink

Hello, I am also interested in this feature. For instance, I want to save for a house, but I can’t tie it to my brokerage account where I am saving up for a down payment. 

I like most of Simplifi’s features over Mint, but this is a critical piece missing. Can you let us know if this is a dev priority; and if so, where it is in the backlog? Thanks!

Coach Natalie

Hello @alertoroink,

Thanks for posting!

Unfortunately, there's no update to provide on this request as of yet. With that being said, however, I'd definitely suggest continuing to follow along here for future updates.

-Coach Natalie

jsy42

Many of us plan for and track transfers from savings and checking accounts to investment accounts. However, there's currently no savings goal for investments, and investment accounts don't work with savings goals. Please add a savings goal option that's compatible with investment accounts

username1

Simplifi should add functionality for the Savings Goals tracker to include brokerage accounts. While savings accounts may be thought of as the most "conservative" or "safe" option for savings goals, oftentimes using such accounts effectively means losing money, especially during inflationary periods. Furthermore, after placing a certain amount of one's money in cash, it's critical to add in higher-interest-earning investments, such as other fixed-income and equity products. Without adding this functionality, Simplifi retains an archaic perspective on savings that limits their customers' ability to save effectively and get the greatest use out of their product. Without adding this functionality, I am unlikely to become a paying customer for Simplifi. 

p.s., it should also be possible to tie multiple accounts to a single savings goal, e.g., using a traditional savings account and a conservatively-invested brokerage account for a single savings goal, such as saving for a down-payment.

username1

Simplifi should add functionality to their savings goals option to include the use of brokerage accounts. Although many may think of "savings accounts" as the most conservative and proper way to save for some goal, this can actually be the least sensible option, especially in high-interest-rate environments, in which case one is actually losing money fast. Simplifi should permit the use of brokerage accounts for savings goals to promote smarter saving, leveraging Modern Portfolio Theory, which advocates the use of some "zero-risk" investments (i.e., cash/savings accounts, which actually carry constant risk of loss due to inflation), as well as moderate and high-risk investments. Without including this functionality, Simplifi is perpetuating an archaic approach to saving and essentially hobbles their customers' ability to save effectively. Without adding this feature, I am unlikely to become a paying Simplifi  customer.

Coach Natalie

Thanks for posting, @username1!

I apologize for any confusion, as we've been having some ongoing issues with the Community this past week -- I did go ahead and merge your Idea posts and vote count here with this existing request for the same ability.

-Coach Natalie

username1

Good grief, how many customer suggestions and complaints will it take to get this change implemented?! Allowing multiple accounts and account types for savings goals is just common-sense financial and wealth management practice. Please make this change so your customers can more effectively use your product, or else you’re going to lose customers.

under_crtl

After 2 years, they have already lost me.

Chrobrego

When I used YNAB, I created a 'Wish Farm' using one of my brokerage accounts.  It was a long term savings goal, so I had the money in an index fund to grow at a higher rate than my meager savings account or checking.  I can create a savings goal in Simplifi for my banking accounts, but the investment brokerage accounts do not appear as an option for 'saving goal' virtual accounts yet. 

umwi

[removed] has been able to do this for a long time

spyderdan

Upvote on this topic. I would also like to see the ability to contribute to a savings goal from my brokage accounts.
I have a goal to purchase a new home in 5 years, but the money I'm saving is in a brokerage account (not a checking/savings) so the feature is unusable.

Also for things like college savings where the money is in a 529.. Again feature is unusable since the money being saved is not a in supported account type.

umwi

+1 please, please, please enable investment accounts!

umwi

Has and progress been made on adding this to a future version of Simplifi? Brokerage accounts are a very common form of savings for users.

Coach Natalie

Hello @umwi,

Thanks for reaching out!

If you navigate to the very first post in this thread, you'll see that the status of this Idea is “In Review” with a note stating that our Product Team is reviewing options for this ability. That is the last update we received for this request; once a new update becomes available, we'll be sure to update this post accordingly.

I hope this helps!

-Coach Natalie

dylanmcdougle

This is a needed feature! I would not only like to include balances from a brokerage account in my savings goal, but more importantly, i would like to factor recurring transfers into brokerage and IRA accounts into my savings goals and spending plan.