FAQ

General Questions

What is your mission statement?

The mission of Lifewise is centered around a belief that the biggest impact an advisor can have on a client's life is at the beginning. We strive to simplify your life by maximizing your most precious resources: your time and money.

Who is BerganKDV?

BerganKDV is a leading consulting firm that provides wealth management, tax, accounting, payroll, and technology services across Minnesota and Iowa.

Do you work with clients remotely?

Absolutely. Lifewise couples powerful technology with Certified Financial Planners™ capable of working with clients across the United States.

Is Lifewise a regulated institution?

Yes. BerganKDV Wealth Management is a Registered Investment Advisor (RIA) regulated by the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). Lifewise is a service offering of BerganKDV Wealth Management and as such is registered to be Doing-Business-As (DBA) Lifewise.

Is the 30-minute free consultation really free?

Yes, a free 30-minute consultation is absolutely and positively free. We wouldn't buy something or start doing work with someone without first kicking the tires, and we wouldn't expect you to either. If you are serious about your financial future and want to learn about how we can help, sign up for a free conversation here or give us a call.

Who is your ideal client?

We work best with young professional (i.e., 25-45 years old) who value authenticity in their relationships, who are determined to get the most out of life both professionally and personally, who are serious about planning (now and) for their future, and ultimately are comfortable using technology to their advantage.

I'm a new client, now what?

Once you've signed up for any of the Lifewise service models you will receive a welcome email with information on the next steps. If you sign up for Lifewise Plan you can expect to receive a welcome email that includes information on signing our digital client agreement, scheduling your next meeting, and providing us with the necessary information your advisor will need to begin developing a plan.

Technology Solutions

What is eMoney? PaySimple?

eMoney is a financial planning and account aggregation platform that allows Lifewise to engage and collaborate with its clients. eMoney helps clients simplify their lives by allowing them to connect all aspects of their financial lives into one central location. This empowers both the advisor and client.

PaySimple is a seamless payment platform Lifewise uses to ensure clients can easily pay for their one-time and ongoing planning services effortlessly.

Why does Lifewise use PaySimple? eMoney?

Lifewise specializes in helping clients simplify their lives by helping to align their most valuable resources (time and money) with their personal goals and values. Lifewise is not a technology developer or designer and, because of that, it is important for Lifewise to leverage the most sophisticated and powerful planning, investment and payment solutions available to create a seamless and effortless client experience.

Are PaySimple and eMoney secure?

Yes, each application Lifewise leverages has gone through an extensive review process to ensure a powerful user experience that is incredibly secure. eMoney is a non-transactional platform meaning that no money can be moved on the eMoney platform. eMoney and PaySimple all leverage 256-bit encryption, which is the highest level of data encryption available today.

How do I link my various financial accounts to my eMoney account?

Log in to your eMoney account here, then click "Add" on the home page next to Accounts, then enter the institution that your account is held at in the search bar and click "Search." From the list of results, select the correct institution, then enter your login credentials and click "Connect." The system will take a minute to verify your credentials and pull over your data. Once this is completed, you can add additional accounts till you've connected all accounts you are interested in aggregating into the eMoney platform.

Can I access my eMoney/PaySimple accounts from my phone?

Yes, all applications that Lifewise leverages are accessible via mobile phones and tablets. eMoney can also be turned into an iPhone application by bookmarking the login page to your iPhone home screen.

Investment Accounts

What types of accounts are currently supported by Lifewise?

The following types of accounts are currently supported:
Individual accounts
Traditional IRAs
Roth IRAs
Inherited IRAs
Trust accounts*
Joint accounts*
*All individuals associated with trust or joint accounts are required to be advised by the same advisor.

Are there any minimum account sizes?

There is no minimum investment and no minimum balance. Accounts under $5,000 may require a meeting fee for annual reviews.

How long does it take to transfer money into an investment account with Lifewise?

Electronic deposits from a client’s bank to Lifewise typically invest the following business day for deposits made before 11 p.m. EST. This includes requests made on Saturday and Sunday.

Electronic withdrawals from Lifewise to a client’s bank generally take 2-4 business days due to the required sale and settlement of securities. Note that withdrawal time may also be impacted if there have been recent deposits within the previous 5 business days.

Deposits must be initiated by 11 p.m. EST to be invested by the next business day. Withdrawals must be initiated before the stock market closes at 4 p.m. EST to be transacted that day. Trade requests initiated after these cutoff times, or during weekends and holidays, will be processed the next business day.

Are there limits or fees for investment transactions with Lifewise?

There are no fees for transactions, however, there are a few limits to transactions as outlined below:
1. Deposits must be between $10-$300,000, but clients can initiate multiple deposits. The maximum amount a client can deposit is $300,000 per business day.
2. Clients must wait 60 days to withdraw an IRA Rollover deposit.
3. You can only make one allocation change per business day.
4. Currently only one bank account, which must be a checking account, can be linked to a client account.

When will my tax forms be available?

All tax forms associated with your investment accounts are usually ready for download by early to mid-February. You will receive an email when your forms are generated, and all forms will be accessible via the Activity tab. Alternatively, you can import the information automatically into TurboTax, H&R Block or TaxACT tax preparation software.

Can I import my tax forms into my tax software (TurboTax, TaxACT, H&R Block)?

Yes, clients can import their tax information automatically into TurboTax, H&R Block or TaxAct preparation software.

Pricing

What does Lifewise cost?

Costs for Lifewise are outlined on the Pricing page which can be accessed here

How are the fees on my investment accounts calculated?

Fees are based on the average balance of your entire account. Fees are collected at the end of each calendar quarter based upon the average value of the account during the quarter. Investment fees are deducted directly from client investment accounts.

How do I pay for planning services?

Unlike investment management expenses which are simply deducted out of investment accounts on a quarterly basis, planning fees are charged on a one-time and/or ongoing basis. Lifewise uses a secure third-party application to allow its clients to effortlessly pay for planning services using a credit or debit card.

Do I incur any costs for severing my relationship with Lifewise?

Clients may terminate their relationship with Lifewise at any time and will not incur any costs for terminating the relationship.

Definitions

Certified Financial Planner™ (CFP®)

A professional who has taken classes and passed extensive exams in the areas of financial planning, investments, taxes, insurance, estate planning and retirement, along with having experience in the field. A CFP® who has obtained their designation must complete continuing education programs in order to maintain the certification. Most importantly, a CFP® professional is held to a fiduciary standard of always putting their clients' interest ahead of their own. The CFP® is bestowed by the CFP® Board.

Compound Interest

The secret ingredient to investment success. It is simply the interest that is calculated on the accrued interest as well the original principle. Albert Einstein once called compound interest the "eighth wonder of the world!"

Diversification

An investment technique used to minimize the risk in a portfolio. The belief is that a portfolio of various assets will produce a higher return and lower level of risk than any individual investment in the portfolio. Studies have demonstrated that over 90% of a portfolios' return is due to diversification.

Exchange Traded Fund (ETF)

A marketable security that is traded like a stock, that follows either an index, commodity, bonds or basket of goods.

Expense Ratio

The cost of investing in a particular mutual fund or ETF.

Financial Planning

The process of comprehensively evaluating your current financial situation in order to develop an actionable plan that aligns your personal goals and values with your limited resources (i.e., time and money).

Investing

The process of purchasing asset(s) with the hope that they will produce income or appreciate in value in the future.

IRA

An Individual Retirement Account that provides individuals the opportunity to contribute money on a pre-tax basis. Contributions then grow tax deferred. Individuals can contribute 100% of their income up to a certain dollar amount as outlined by the IRS.

Mutual Fund

An investment vehicle pool of money collected in order to be invested by a fund manager in accordance with the purpose of the mutual fund, which is stated in its prospectus. These are usually invested in to gain diversification you normally wouldn't be able to achieve on your own.

Rebalancing

As markets go up and down, it is possible for an investor's original allocation (i.e., 70% stock/30% bonds) to drift out of alignment (i.e., 80% stocks/20% bonds). By buying and selling assets in order to realign a portfolio's asset allocation back in accordance with the desired allocation, investors are able to maintain the same allocation as originally intended.

Roth

Similar to the traditional IRA defined above except that contributions are not tax deductible (after-tax) and qualified withdrawals are tax free.

Roth Conversion

The moving of assets from a Traditional, SEP or SIMPLE IRA into a Roth IRA, which requires the owner to pay taxes now on the balance eliminating the need to pay taxes upon withdrawals in the future.

Taxable Account

An investment account in which any income earned from the account is taxed at the time of earning. Any appreciation in the assets of a taxable account are taxed upon sale at short-term or long-term capital gains rates.

Tax Loss Harvesting

The process of selling an asset that has experienced a decline in value to realize a loss that can be used to offset taxable income, while subsequently purchasing a similar asset to replace the original in order to rebalance the portfolio to its desired allocation.

Trust

A relationship in which one party grants a trustee the rights to have title of their property and/or assets for the benefit of the beneficiary.

401(k)

A retirement plan established by an employer through which employees can contribute a portion of their salary on a post-tax or pre-tax basis.