There are a few important rules and limits to keep in mind when trading in your self-directed investing account:
- No day trading: Betterment prevents day trading in self-directed investing accounts. You won’t be able to complete same-day round trips (that is, buying and selling or selling and buying the same security within one market day). This includes activity across your Betterment accounts, so if a managed goal already traded a security earlier in the day, you may be unable to trade the same security in your self-directed investing account until the next market day.
- Tax preview limitations: If there’s a pending transaction in a managed account for a security you are trying to buy or sell in your self-directed investing account, tax impact preview information may be temporarily unavailable. Proceeding with a trade in your self-directed investing account while a managed transaction in that same security is still pending could lead to unexpected tax outcomes.
- No margin trading: All purchases must be made with the available cash in your account (i.e., your cash buying power). You can’t buy securities on margin or borrow funds for trading.
- Pending trade limits: An order in progress must complete before initiating a similar order type (e.g., placing another buy or sell) on the same security.
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