Wealthfront

What you will be able to do with this connection

This connection setup enables 3 features:

1. Visibility of total balance.
2. Route money into your account (also called “pushing” funds).
3. Transfer funds from a pod to Wealthfront (also called “pulling” funds).

Requirements to Connect

• You have an account with Wealthfront
  • You will need a Wealthfront Cash account for the push method.
    • You will need your account and routing numbers. We will walk you through that below.
  • You will need at least one of Wealthfront’s investing accounts for the pull method:
    • Automated Bond ladder
    • Automated Bond Portfolio
    • Automated Index Investing
    • Stock Investing
• You have a Sequence account.
• You will need whatever device you use Sequence on - desktop or laptop.
• You may encounter some Multi-Factor Authentication (MFA). So, may need one or more of:
  • Whatever device you receive text messages on
  • Whatever device you use to access the Wealthfront Mobile app
  • Whatever device you use to access your preferred authenticator app

Connection Instructions

Currently, investment accounts are discoverable via Plaid. Therefore, investment accounts can be added to Sequence via Plaid, resulting in the visibility of account balances. However, no routing or account numbers are available for Wealthfront's investment accounts, which means you cannot directly route to investment accounts at Wealthfront. Below, we present the two alternative methods—the push and the pull—for maximum convenience.

If you’ve connected accounts using Plaid previously, you should be able to run through that section reasonably quickly.

Routing and account numbers can be found via the browser interface or the mobile app. Instructions for both are below.

Connecting via Plaid

The following process enables a connection with Plaid that enables the display of your Wealthfront account balance:

1. Click this link to navigate to the Sequence login page.

2. On the bottom center of your money map click the add account button.

3. Select the Beneficiary & Investment Account

4. You should now see the Plaid connector.

5. Click Continue to go to the next step.

6. Enter your Phone number and click continue.
   * Note that if you have previously used Plaid your phone number may be autofilled.

7. Plaid will send you a text message with a code. Enter the code, and you should move to the institution selection screen.

   1. If you’ve used Plaid before, you may see a list of previously selected institutions.
      1. If your desired institution is listed, you may select it.
      2. Otherwise, click on “Connect a new institution” located at the bottom of the list.
   2. Otherwise, we should only see investment institutions because back in step 3 we selected “Investment account.”

8. In this case, we will select Wealthfront.

   1. If you don’t see Wealthfront listed in the displayed institutions then start typing Wealthfront in the search field.

9. You should see the screen below directing you to visit Wealthfront and generate an app password.

   1. If you have never generated an app password for Sequence follow the onscreen instructions.
   2. If you have generated a Wealthfront app password for Sequence before and have it saved, you may reuse it.
   3. If you have generated a Wealthfront app password for Sequence before but haven’t saved it, you may generate a new app password.

   

   ☢️ Be aware that once the Wealthfront pop-up with the generated app password is closed, the app password is gone and cannot be retrieved.

   😉 You can delete and generate as many passwords as you need.

10. After copying your Wealthfront app password to your clipboard, click on “Continue with App Password” on the Plaid workflow.

11. Enter the email associated with your Wealthfront account, paste your app password, and click the Submit button.

12. After clicking Submit, Plaid will present the option of where to receive your Wealthfront security code.

    1. Select your preferred delivery method.

13. Enter your Wealthfront security code.

14. You should now see a list of Wealthfront accounts limited to the type of accounts you are attempting to connect.

15. Use the checkboxes to select the account(s) you wish to connect and click Continue.

🗒️ This process can be repeated for a Wealthfront cash account by selecting “Depository account” in Step 3.

The Pull Method: Using an EFT at Wealthfront

If you’ve used an EFT (electronic funds transfer) to transfer money from a bank account to Wealthfront, this process will be familiar. If this is your first EFT setup at Wealthfront, then you’ll find this guide helpful.

The below method has 2 overall tasks:

1. Create a pod in your Sequence money map.
2. Add the pod created in task 1 to Wealthfront’s list of eligible EFT sources.

💡 Use Sequence rules to fill your investment pod. Then, use Wealthfront’s frequency-based recurring transfers to pull funds from your Sequence pod automatically.

Task 1: Create a pod in your Sequence money map

1. Click this link to navigate to the Sequence login page.

2. On the bottom center of your money map click the Add Pod button.

3. Give your pod a name and select a Beneficiary from the dropdown menu.

   

4. You should now have your newly created pod visible as a node in your Sequence money map.

   

5. Click on your pod to open the slide-out drawer containing the details view.

6. You should see a routing number and account number for the pod. You will need these for the next task.

   

Task 2: Add your pod to Wealthfront’s list of eligible EFT sources

While it may be possible to complete this process from a mobile app, both we and Wealthfront suggest completing the process in a desktop based browser. Therefore, the following instructions for this task are browser based.

1. Use your preferred browser to navigate to Wealthfront.

2. Enter your login credentials and click the “Log in” button.

3. You should be on the Wealthfront dashboard.

    ☢️ You cannot add any Thread Bank (Sequence’s banking partner) accounts to Wealthfront without assistance. Wealthfront has incorrectly mapped Thread Bank routing numbers to another Fintech company. 🤦🏼‍♀️

   🛠 Using the steps below you can get this fixed for your Wealthfront account in in 1 -2 business days.

4. On the upper navbar, click on your name in the top right corner.

5. Under Support, click on “Contact us.”

   

6. On the “How can we help?” screen, select Linking an account from the drop-down menu.

7. You should see the rest of the Contact form appear. Fill out the fields as follows:

   

8. In the Messagefield fill this text out exactly:

   📝 Sequence, a fintech company, uses Thread Bank for their banking services. Neither Sequence nor Thread Bank is available in the searchable institutions list. When attempting to add the account manually, I am prevented from doing so after entering the account routing number. Wealthfront's workflow associates Thread Bank with Stessa because Stessa (another Fintech company) uses Thread Bank for their underlying banking services. Since Stessa is available in the searchable institutions list, the Wealthfront workflow prevents me from manually adding my account and instead directs me to connect Stessa. Please decouple Thread Bank routing numbers from Stessa.

9. Click the Send button. You should get an automatic email response with a ticket number shortly.

10. While you wait for a rep from Wealthfront to acknowledge your request, collect the following 2 items:

    1. Get an account statement for the pod. If the pod is newly created, you may not yet have a statement available, and you can jump to step 10.b.
       1. In the Sequence app click on the account icon.
       2. Select Settings.
       3. Click on Statements.
       4. Find your pod account on the list (you may need to click the “load more” button) and click the arrow on the right side.
       5. Click on the latest monthly statement to retrieve it and make sure to download a copy. You will need to upload this to Wealthfront.
    2. Reach out to Sequence customer service via email requesting an account (pod) verification letter.

       1. Email Sequence at hello@getsequence.io.

       2. You will need to provide the last four digits of the pod account number.

       3. You can use the below email template.

          📝 Hello Sequence,

          I would like to request an account verification letter for my pod identified via the last four digits below.

          Thank you, [Your Name]

          Last 4 digits of Pod Account #: [XXXX]

11. Within 1 - 2 business days, you should receive an email from a rep at Wealthfront that contains the text below (or similar).

     📩 Hi [Your Name],

    Thanks for reaching out!

    For us to look into an alternative linking method, we'll need you to upload a recent account statement for the account you wish to link. This statement can be uploaded through your secure Document uploader.

    Thanks in advance.

    Best,

    [Wealthfront Rep’s Name]

12. Upon receiving the above email:

    1. Go to the Taxes & Documents section of Wealthfront using the link in the email.

       1. If you prefer you can get there by doing the following:
          • Login to Wealthfront.
          • On the upper navbar, click on your name in the top right corner.
          • Under Profile click on Documents.

    2. On the Taxes & Documents page, you should see a right-hand column of cards.

    3. Scroll down until you see the card labeled “Send us a document.”

    4. Click on the “Upload a document” button.

       

    5. On the “Secure Document Uploader” pop-up, click the “Select files” button.

       

    6. Select your account statement for your pod and click Open.

    7. Set the category to Account Statement using the dropdown menu.

    8. Click the “Add more files” button.

    9. Select your account verification letter for your pod and click Open.

    10. Set the category to Other Transfer Documents using the dropdown menu.

    11. Finally, click the Upload button.

        

13. Go back to the email chain for your Wealthfront service ticket and reply with the following:

    📝 An account statement and an institutional verification letter from Sequence have been uploaded. Thank you.

14. You should receive an email response within 1 business day (possibly even the same business day) with instructions to connect your Sequence Pod.

15. Complete the steps in the email. You will have a 24-hour window to complete those steps.

✅ You have completed the setup of the pull method.

The Push Method: Using Sequence to route money to a Wealthfront cash account

We’ll use Sequence to route money to a Wealthfront cash account in this method. Once funds are inside a Wealthfront cash account, we will set up an automated transfer to a Wealthfront Stock Investing account.

The below method has three overall tasks:

1. Add your Wealthfront cash account to your Sequence money map.
2. Create rules in Sequence to route money to Wealthfront.
3. Automate routing of funds inside the Wealthfront ecosystem.

 🗒️ Note that Wealthfront only allows automatic investments from a cash account to any of their automated portfolios—the Automated bond ladder, the Automated bond portfolio, and the Automated index investing. For more information, see this Wealthfront page.

Task 1: Add your Wealthfront Cash Account to Sequence

You may skip this task if your Wealthfront cash account is already added to Sequence.

1. Click this link to navigate to the Sequence login page. Complete the login process.

   

2. On the bottom center of your money map, click the Add Account button.

   

3. Select the Beneficiary and then click on “Depository account.”

4. Type Wealthfront into the search field and click on the result.

5. You should now be in a Plaid workflow. Click the Continue button.

6. Continue working through the Plaid workflow.

   1. If you have used Plaid previously:
      1. You should get to a step in the Plaid workflow called “Select a saved institution.”
         1. If you’ve used Wealthfront before you may select it from the list.
         2. If you have not used Wealthfront before you can click on “Connect a new institution.”
   2. If this is the first time you have used Plaid, you should see “Select your institution.”
      1. Type in Wealthfront the the search field.
      2. Click the Wealthfront option to progress to the next step.

7. You should see the screen below directing you to visit Wealthfront and generate an app password.

   1. If you have never generated an app password for Sequence follow the onscreen instructions.
   2. If you have generated a Wealthfront app password for Sequence before and have it saved, you may reuse it.
   3. If you have generated a Wealthfront app password for Sequence before but haven’t saved it, you may generate a new app password.

   

    ☢️ Be aware that once the Wealthfront pop-up with the generated app password is closed, the app password is gone and cannot be retrieved.

   😉 You can delete and generate as many passwords as you need.

8. After copying your Wealthfront app password to your clipboard, click on “Continue with App Password” on the Plaid workflow.

9. Enter the email associated with your Wealthfront account, paste your app password, and click the Submit button.

10. After clicking Submit, Plaid will present the option of where to receive your Wealthfront security code.

    1. Select your preferred delivery method.

11. Enter your Wealthfront security code.

12. You should now see a list of Wealthfront accounts limited to the type of accounts you are attempting to connect (cash accounts in this scenario).

13. Use the checkboxes to select the account(s) you wish to connect and click Continue.

Task 2: Create rule(s) in Sequence

In this task, we will create an example rule using Sequence. This example uses a simple port-to-cash account rule. Rules can also be created to run from a pod or external account. Your rule(s) will be unique to your financial goals.

1. Make sure you have both an Income Source account and your desired Wealthfront cash account included in your Sequence money map.

   

2. Click on your Income Source account and drag a line from the plus sign (+) at the bottom of the port node to your Wealthfront account node. This will trigger the rule workflow.

3. In this example, we will select a “Triggered by incoming funds rule.”

   

4. The “Incoming funds rule” details view will slide out from the side of your screen.

5. This example does not employ any condition(s). You may add them to your rule as you see fit.

6. This rule's action is set to transfer 10% of incoming funds to the Wealthfront cash account. Again, the rules you choose may be different to meet your financial goals.

   

7. Click the Save button to save the rule to your Sequence money map.

Task 3: Automate in the Wealthfront ecosystem

According to this Wealthfront support article, you can transfer from a cash account to any automated investing account. In addition, this support article makes it clear that transfers can be done from a cash account to IRAs (Traditional, Roth, SEP) as well. So any automated investment account, taxable or non-taxable, should be eligible for recurring frequency-based transfers.

While you can do one-off transfers from a cash account, you can’t do recurring frequency-based transfers to a Stock investing account.

The most efficient way to automate the movement of money in the Wealthfront ecosystem is an automated savings plan. You can use the automated savings plan to automate where the funds you push from Sequence to your Wealthfront cash account end up in the Wealthfront ecosystem. This guide walks you through setting up an automated savings plan via both the Wealthfront website or the Wealthfront app.

• Wealthfront automated savings plan via desktop browser app

  1. Log into the Wealthfront website.

  2. Navigate to your transfer hub from the header by clicking on “Transfer money.”

     

  3. Select the prompt to set up your automated savings plan.

     

  4. Click the “Get started” button.

     

  5. Select the Automated investing accounts or Cash categories you would like to save to. If needed you can create additional Cash categories.

  6. Click continue when you have selected you designated accounts.

     

  7. Click Continue, again.

     

  8. First, set your cash account balance goal by clicking “Set a target balance.”

     

  9. Select an amount using the slider or click on the edit icon to type an exact amount

     

  10. Click Next to add the selected amount to your automated savings plan.

  11. Select the frequency to check for excess cash and click Next when ready.

      

  12. Set targets for your account(s). Wealthfront will save into each account until the target is reached, then start saving in the following account you have selected.

      1. For each account, you can set:
         1. A monthly target - a specified amount each month
         2. A target balance - a total amount for the account

      

  13. If needed, reorder the accounts by dragging and dropping.

  14. When you have completed making adjustments click the button labeled “Turn on automated savings.”

  15. You may be given a prompt to set up direct deposit. Since you are using Sequence you can click “Go to dashboard.”

      

      ✅ Your automated savings plan is all set to go.

      📝 To edit your automated savings plan, repeat steps 1-3 and follow the prompts from there. Note that the prompt in step 3 may look slightly different.
      
      

• Wealthfront automated savings plan via mobile app

  1. Open the Wealthfront app on your mobile device.

  2. Navigate to your transfer hub using the bottom navigation bar.

     

  3. Select the prompt to set up your automated savings plan.

     

  4. Tap on the “Get started” button.

     

  5. Select the Automated investing accounts or Cash categories you would like to save to. If needed you can create additional Cash categories.

  6. Tap Continue when you have selected you designated accounts.

     

  7. Tap Continue, again.

     

  8. First, set your cash account balance goal by clicking “Set a target balance.”

     

  9. Select an amount using the slider or click on the edit icon to type an exact amount

     

  10. Tap Next to add the selected amount to your automated savings plan.

  11. Select the frequency to check for excess cash and click Next when ready.

      

  12. Set targets for your account(s). Wealthfront will save into each account until the target is reached, then start saving in the following account you have selected.

      1. For each account, you can set:
         1. A monthly target - a specified amount each month
         2. A target balance - a total amount for the account

      

  13. If needed, reorder the accounts by dragging and dropping.

  14. When you have completed making adjustments tap the button labeled “Turn on automated savings.”

  15. You may be given a prompt to set up direct deposit. Since you are using Sequence you can click “Go to dashboard.”

      

      ✅ Your automated savings plan is all set to go.

      📝 To edit your automated savings plan, repeat steps 1-3 and follow the prompts from there. Note that the prompt in step 3 may look slightly different.

Testing

If you would like to test your connection, you can go to your Sequence Activity Log and run a manual transfer by clicking on the “Transfer Manually” button located in the upper right of the Activity Log screen.

⚡ For faster manual transfers use money already in a pod. Transfers from pods to external accounts are 2x faster than transfers from external accounts to external accounts.