Use the specific account provided by Forms Logic to send documents for electronic signing via the Forms Logic workflow process.
Track signature progress, resend envelopes, set signing orders, correct errors inside envelopes, change recipient emails or phone numbers, add required fields into paperwork, and more.
Envelopes completed using the Forms Logic docusign are automatically submitted to Schwab.
Submitting all ticket requests and communicating with WWA staff on request statuses and NIGOs.
Ticket topics include all trading requests, distributions, contributions, billing changes, and more.
Once a workflow is completed and esigned in Forms Logic, a ticket will automatically be created in the Taiko Portal.
Submitting manually signed paperwork. Paperwork that is not Docusigned will not be automatically received or submitted and a ticket in the Taiko Portal containing the signed PDFs will need to be created by each Advisor.
The most important thing with mailing checks to Schwab is that the client’s account number and any coding instructions must be written on the face of the check either at the top or in the memo line.
Mailing a check to Schwab before the account is open and has an official account number is not permitted and will cause checks to be lost.
The process for mailing personal checks or checks from other institutions is the same.
We recommend always mailing checks using a mail carrier that can provide a package tracking number whenever possible.
Make Checks Payable To:
Charles Schwab FBO (Client First and Last Name)
List full account number on memo line or at top of check (do not send if account number does not exist yet)
List any desired coding instructions on the memo line or at the top of the check. (For example: “Rollover”, “In-Direct Rollover”, Contribution (tax year)” etc.)
Overnight Mailing Address: (FedEx/UPS with tracking must be sent here only):
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. AS Document Control 1945 Northwestern Drive El Paso, TX 79912
***the process below only pertains to ZEGA accounts that are traded with Option & Margin accounts. Regular ZEGA models with “ETF” in the title are not subject to any of these instructions and can be invested as usual under your normal rep code and sleeved together with other accounts***
STEP 1: Watch ZEGA Training Videos and make sure to speak with James Jurica. All Advisors are required to do this ahead of being provided a ZEGA rep code so that we can be sure that proper Advisor training happens before making investment decisions. A letter of understanding will need to be signed by each Advisor prior to investing with ZEGA.
STEP 2: Open a New Account Using the Correct ZEGA Rep Code
A ZEGA Option & Margin account cannot be opened under normal rep codes at Schwab and they do require a unique code with more advanced permissions. These accounts must be separate and standalone, not comingled with any other management, including any other ZEGA model.
If you do not already have a ZEGA rep code on the system, a training and approval process will be required in order to set one up in your name. Please contact James Jurica for more information on training, and contact [email protected] to obtain a new code once training is complete. ***You must have a ZEGA rep code first, before opening ZEGA accounts or investing assets***
Scenario #1:A client account is already open at Schwab and you want to convert the ENTIRE account balance to a ZEGA Option & Margin model
Submit a “Billing > Fee Schedule Assignment” ticket in Taiko to update the rep code and the fee rate on the current account number.
Complete the same steps contained within this page with the exception of opening a new account. Skip the new account application and still submit all other required documents via Forms Logic. Be sure to manually complete each form in it’s entirety, including typing your correct ZEGA rep code at the top of all Schwab forms.
Scenario #2: A client account is already open at Schwab and you only want to invest a PORTION of the account balance into a ZEGA Option & Margin model 1. A duplicate Schwab account will need to be opened under the correct ZEGA rep code.
2. Complete the same steps contained wihtin this page including opening a new account, including submitting all other required documents via Forms Logic. Be sure your correct ZEGA rep code is contained at the top of all Schwab forms.
STEP 3: Choose Fee Amount and Complete Required Paperwork Under ZEGA Rep Code
All forms should always be generated inside Forms Logic.
The manager cost of all ZEGA models is 45 bps, therefore:
Maximum fee = 202 bps
Minimum fee = 102 bps
2. “AS Options Trading and Margin Application” (search for in the search bar at the top of the Schwab forms list in Forms Logic)
***Section 2: check “Add margin feature only” AND “Add the options strategy below to my account”
***Section 3: check “spreads (Level 2)”
***Section 4: client knowledge level for both stock and option must be Good (or better) otherwise option & margin will not be approved on the account
Fill out the rest of the fields on the form as usual
3. ***Needed for IRAs only*** Schwab Supplemental App and Agreement for Limited Option and Margin Trading Spreads in Your IRA Account
***Section 2: check “Add Limited Margin with Spread Option Trading to my account”
The paperwork listed above is required in addition to the usual WWA contractual paperwork listing a normal fee between 77bps and 195bps and the Risk Assessment Disclosure. If you have already obtained signatures on the standard WWA documents once prior, you do not need to obtain signatures on these forms again to invest with ZEGA and only the (2 or 3) new forms listed above will be required.
Submit a Trading Ticket in Taiko to Assign Models to the account. Select the ZEGA Option & Margin model of your choosing (only one may be assigned to each account and cannot be comingled with other standard or ZEGA models).
Assigning this “placeholder” model is required on our end under WWA to set-up the sleeving and billing correctly. From there, we will inform ZEGA in the background of which model name you assigned, but WWA does not trade these accounts. Please be sure to communicate with ZEGA directly about specific model implementation.
The best way to add money to an account is using a standing bank link that was set-up during the account opening.
Submit a ticket in the Taiko portal under > Cashiering Request > Money In and completing the required questions.
Be sure to write “current bank on file ending in _ _ _ _ ” and provide the last 4 of the account number in the special instructions. This info can be found on the Move Money tab at Schwab if there is an active link already on the account. The contribution/addition will then be processed on your behalf.
If there is no standing bank link on file, we recommend setting one up using Schwab Money Link paperwork for future efficiency rather than mailing checks.
If the client prefers to mail a check, please see the below instructions.
Mailing Checks to Charles Schwab:
The most important thing with mailing checks to Schwab is that the client’s account number and any coding instructions must be written on the face of the check either at the top or in the memo line.
Mailing a check to Schwab before the account is open and has an official account number is not permitted and will cause checks to be lost.
The process for mailing personal checks or checks from other institutions is the same.
We recommend always mailing checks using a mail carrier that can provide a package tracking number whenever possible.
Make Checks Payable To:
Charles Schwab FBO (Client First and Last Name)
List full account number on memo line or at top of check (do not send if account number does not exist yet)
List any desired coding instructions on the memo line or at the top of the check. (For example: “Rollover”, “In-Direct Rollover”, Contribution (tax year)” etc.)
Overnight Mailing Address: (FedEx/UPS with tracking must be sent here only):
Charles Schwab & Co., Inc. AS Document Control 1945 Northwestern Drive El Paso, TX 79912
The Bluerock model is illiquid and is not intended to be distributed from. Investing in Bluerock should mean that the client does not need to withdraw any money from the model for several years. Please see the the Bluerock Disclosure on the WWA Client Contracts page of our site for more details. Each client and advisor are required to sign this form in order to invest in Bluerock to acknowledge that the model is illiquid.
We do not recommend investing more than 10% of the clients net assets into Bluerock, so that should they need cash, they can get it from a different source other than the Bluerock model. RMDs from IRA accounts are no exception. RMDs should be satisfied using other accounts not invested in Bluerock, and we do not recommend investing all of a client’s IRA assets in Bluerock because they may not be able to satisfy their RMD from the account.
If a client needs to take a distribution, a different account other than the Bluerock account should be considered first.
If it is a necessity for a client to distribute cash from their Bluerock account, the fund works the same as any tender date fund:
Shares can only be sold on 4 specific tender dates throughout the year. These dates are not on a traditional calendar quarter schedule and are unique and chosen by the fund company.
A distribution ticket should be submitted in Fusion as usual for a distribution request from an account invested in Bluerock. The tickets must be submitted 1 week prior to the upcoming fund tender date (no earlier, no later, please).
Advisors are never contacting TD or Bluerock directly about buying or selling shares and everything must be done through the Fusion system as usual.
Our team will submit the cash raise request to TD as usual. From there, we wait to hear back from the fund company as to how many shares they agreed to sell.
The fund company will typically only allow a very small number of shares, or sometimes zeroshares, to be liquidated on each tender date. This decision is made by the fund company on the tender date at their discretion – neither WWA or TD knows how many shares will be sold and how much cash will be available to the client – this number is unpredictable.
Once we receive confirmation from TD on how many shares were allowed to be sold by the fund company, the ticket comments will be updated showing the advisor how much cash we were able to generate. WWA staff will communicate with the Advisor inside the ticket to confirm the final distribution amount.
The upcoming tender dates for the Bluerock fund inside our model are as follows:
A visual and audio explanation of these guidelines can be found in the Trading Accounts section.
Partial cash raises for ACH distributions, annuity funding, or ongoing cash holds are different from full liquidation requests described on this page and can be executed using the Allocation or Distribution ticket process as usual.
WWA does not approve our Advisors to recommend that clients fully exit the market temporarily or indefinitely due to market conditions.
WWA will fully liquidate and close/distribute an account for a client at any time at their discretion following the guidelines below.
Once all required WWA paperwork is on file.
By selecting the “Full Liquidation – Client Requested” model inside the model allocation ticket process in Fusion and providing a reason in the special instructions for WWA review.
Full liquidation requests are not entered using the cash raise section in Step 1 of the allocation tool.
The “Full Liquidation – Client Requested” model may not be used as a sleeve amoung other models assigned to an account. The Full Liquidation model by definition may only be used when assigning 100% to the model in order to fully liquidate the account at the client’s request.
If the written reason within the ticket for the full liquidation is to fund an annuity, then no further explanation is required.
If the client wants out of the market at their own discretion for no other reason other than to be out of the market indefinitely and are keeping their balance at TD under WWA, an email from the client must be copied and pasted into the allocation ticket comments. The text must show the client email address on file, the date and time the email was sent, specifying the account registration details, a note that they are requesting their account be liquidated at their discretion, and that they understand they will still be charged their management fees.
*Please note*WWA only places trades for active clients. WWA does not liquidate accounts for brand new clients who do not have any billable AUM invested with WWA. Liquidation instructions for new clients will be on hold until household AUM is active in system first. In other words, our platform may not be used as a pass-through to fund annuities or other products. If WWA is trading the account, it must mean the client is a WWA client and is investing at least a portion of their household assets with the company.
Once a client’s account opens at Schwab, they receive a written welcome letter in the mail direct from Schwab. Inside the letter are instructions about how to access Schwab’s website on their end. Schwab access online is not something that Advisors or WWA staff can set-up for clients and is something they would have to do on their end.
A client does not need to wait for their letter to arrive via “snail mail” before accessing Schwab’s site. The only condition of accessing Schwab’s site is that the client has to have an active and open account in order to register.
The company receiving the assets always facilitates direct transfers out of Schwab.
The company receiving the assets will work with the client to initiate any outgoing transfer from Schwab using their proprietary paperwork. While there are some steps required beforehand when transferring out to an annuity as listed below, all other transfers can leave Schwab in-kind without involvement from Advisors or WWA staff. The client should simply work with the receiving side to request the assets and work with Schwab’s back office directly.
WWA Outgoing Annuity Transfer Process
1. Advisor to Review Client Account & Trading Status
Step 1 listed below is relevant to new accounts that have never been traded under WWA previously. If you have an ongoing account that is already invested in a model, please proceed to Step 2.
Advisor to check that a WWA investment model has been assigned to a client’s account prior to requesting a cash raise for an annuity transfer. This can be found by looking at Portfolio Audit in Orion and whether there is a model listed.
If transferring out an entire account balance in full to an annuity, Advisor to check that at least 50% of the client’s household assets are under active model management with WWA among other accounts in their name. This guideline is in place to help prevent the WWA platform from being used solely to fund annuities. Please keep in mind that WWA will not be facilitating trading or liquidating a client’s account if they are not an active client invested with WWA at at least 50% household capacity.
To clarify further, client accounts must be invested in an active WWA model in order to trade a client account in any way, including raising cash for an annuity transfer. New accounts with otherwise remain in-kind on the system until model allocation instructions are submitted via a ticket in Taiko.
Both WWA model assignment instructions and cash raise instructions can be submitted at the same time within the same ticket when using the allocation process in Taiko if necessary. If a model has already been assigned to an account previously, separate cash raise instructions can be submitted anytime using the trade ticket process as usual.
2. Raise Cash for Transfer
Advisor to submit trade ticket in Taiko to raise cash in the client account in step 1 of the ticket process (if necessary) before annuity transfer paperwork is submitted to Schwab. Instructions on how to submit trade tickets to raise cash can be found within the “Trading Accounts” menu.
All Advisors must prepare cash prior to submitting annuity paperwork to Schwab. This helps immensely to avoid NIGOs backing up on our system and also it avoids slowdowns once the request arrives at Schwab so that balances can be sent out seamlessly.
Advisors must not submit cash raise instructions inside the submitted annuity paperwork. Cash raises should always be handled beforehand direct through the WWA ticketing system to avoid potential trade errors and complications.
When requesting a full balance transfer out to an annuity, market fluctuation may cause a mismatch between the balance requested and the balance inside the Schwab account. In these cases, Schwab will send out the full amount in the account even if it does not match the transfer form as long as a “FULL” transfer is indicated on the annuity paperwork.
3. Next Steps for Processing
The principals of any outgoing transfer request are that the back office at the company receiving the assets is the party that should check with Schwab on the transfer status and clear up any clarifications they can. WWA staff may become involved based on the following scenarios:
For Requests In Good Order:
When annuity paperwork arrives at TD in good order, meaning annuity paperwork is correct and sufficient cash is already available within the account, Schwab will automatically send balances out to annuity companies without any involvement from WWA. This is the fastest and most efficient way to fund an annuity from a Schwab account.
WWA staff cannot see nor is alerted of annuity paperwork that is submitted to Schwab in the vast majority of cases when submitted in good order. Schwab’s transfer team will simply process the request within their usual timeframes on their end.
We’ve seen outgoing annuity transfers take anywhere from 2 days to 10 days depending on Schwab’s outgoing transfer volume at the time. Please set proper expectations with clients. Under promise and overdeliver is always the best policy with any outgoing transfer.
WWA staff can check on the status of an annuity transfer at the request of an Advisor via email to [email protected] if the usual processing timeframe has passed and the balance has still not been sent out. Please note that WWA staff cannot rush or expedite an annuity request at Schwab.
For Requests Not In Good Order:
When annuity paperwork arrives at Schwab not in good order, meaning there is clarification needed on the paperwork or there is not sufficient cash in the account, WWA staff will be contacted by Schwab with notes as to what the problem is.
WWA staff will then resolve the NIGO direct with Sscshwab whenever possible, or contact the Advisor with instructions if their involvement is needed.
Once NIGO issues have been resolved, WWA staff will then reply to Schwab on behalf of the Advisor to go ahead and process the request.
Once issues are resolved by WWA staff, WWA staff will reply to Schwab to process the request. The request then goes back into Schwab’s rotation of requests and the usual processing timeline starts over.
WWA encourages all Advisors to follow the suggested workflow when submitting annuity requests, because anything submitted not in good order will always take longer than requests submitted in good order.
When a client passes away, it is of course a sensitive and difficult time for the beneficiaries and family members who may be in contact with you. While we certainly feel compelled to assist in any way that we can, there are some guidelines that we ask Advisors to please follow along the way.
When a client is deceased, please notify the WWA operations team at [email protected] right away. Our team will then speak with Charles Schwab to notify them as step 1. Please always go through our team rather than calling or notifying Charles Schwab directly.
Deceased client accounts are always completely frozen by Schwab. As a result, once a client is deceased, Advisors and wwa staff can no longer service the account in any way, including trading, billing, or misc. service requests.
Deceased client accounts are automatically de-linked from WWA due to the account being frozen. Advisors and WWA will lose access and visibility to the deceased client’s account, although all application information and account numbers are still stored inside the Fusion ticket history if needed for any reason.
If and when account beneficiaries contact you, always ask them up front what their wishes are regarding the inheritance (cash distribution, transfer out of Schwab, keeping the balance in an account with you as the Advisor, etc.)
Whether the beneficiary is being retained as an ongoing client of WWA will determine step 2A vs. 2B:
If the beneficiary is accepting their inheritance as a distribution or into an account not managed under WWA (***most common outcome***)
2A: Always direct them to work with Charles Schwab directly from that point forward by calling 800-515-2157.
From there, the beneficiary will work with a member of the Schwab team dedicated to processing death claims.
It is best for our Advisors to allow Charles Schwab’s death claim team to assist beneficiaries directly for many reasons, ranging anywhere from the liability of authenticating the beneficiaries and their intentions, to the amount of time and resources it can take to process these situations that commonly takes months or even years to resolve.
Please note that a beneficiary that you are not onboarding and retaining as a client and should never be provided any information about the account and should only be provided the Charles Schwab phone number with instructions to call them for next steps.
Please do not open beneficiary accounts through Fusion, or offer to assist beneficiaries with contacting Schwab, for the purpose of the beneficiary taking a distribution or transferring the balance elsewhere. Schwab should facilitate this process direct with the beneficiary rather than the Advisor’s office or WWA staff.
If the beneficiary intends to accept their inheritance as a managed account under WWA using your Advisory services:
2B: Begin the new client onboarding process as you would normally from the beginning.
(For beneficiaries that are already WWA clients, new WWA paperwork will be required only if they have never signed the most recent version of the Schwab IAA).
Reach out to WWA staff at [email protected] with any questions on what type of account you should open for the client and what additional paperwork may be required.
Fusion may be used to open accounts and submit any required documents with assistance from WWA operations.
The Schwab “Account Closure Form” is required to be signed by the client for any account closure request, otherwise the account will remain open at Schwab. The only exception to this is for full outgoing ACAT transfer requests that are requested from other institutions where the account will close automatically in that case.
The Account Closure Form can be found in Fusion and sent for signing using the Account Service Forms wizard.
Account closures can be requested through the distribution ticket process, or by an email request from the Advisor to the Ops Team, if an Advisor would like assistance making sure the account is closed, however the Account Closure Form will still be required.
De-linking an account differs from closing an account, where WWA or Schwab may de-link, aka remove, WWA advisory services from the account at their discretion. The account remains open at Schwab in this case, but WWA can no longer view or service the account.
