What happens to my money if Betterment goes public, is acquired, or closes?

Betterment Securities is a member of the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC). At a high level, you can think of SIPC as providing protection for funds held in a brokerage account in the event that the brokerage fails.

The Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) provides insurance that protects your investments, including those held by our broker, Betterment Securities. It covers up to $500,000 of missing assets, including a maximum of $250,000 for cash claims.

The limit applies only to the value of missing securities, not losses due to market volatility. If there are securities identified as belonging to the customer, these (or their equivalent value) will be returned regardless of account size, and the $500,000 limit will apply only to the difference.

Types of accounts and investments generally protected by SIPC include stocks, bonds, mutual funds, money market mutual funds (MMMFs), certificates of deposit (CDs), annuities, government securities, municipal securities, and U.S. Treasury securities (Treasuries).

Read more in-depth about the safety and security of your account here.

Cash Reserve

Deposits into Betterment’s cash account, Cash Reserve, are covered by Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (“FDIC”) insurance up to $1mm per individual account and $2mm per joint account, once deposited into interest-bearing deposit accounts at one or more program banks†.

Each interest-bearing deposit account will be eligible for FDIC insurance up to $250,000 for each insurable account type (e.g., individual, joint, etc.), including principal and accrued interest.

Checking

For deposits into Betterment Checking—a checking account and Visa debit card provided by nbkc bank, Member FDIC—each account will be eligible for FDIC insurance up to $250,000 for each insurable account type (e.g., individual, joint, etc.), when combined with all other deposits held in the same insurable capacity at nbkc.

In the unlikely event of a bank failure, and FDIC deposit insurance payments become necessary, there is no specific time period during which the FDIC must make insurance payments available, and you may not earn interest on your deposits from the time a program bank is closed. You may also be required to provide certain documentation to the FDIC before insurance payments are made.