Frequently Asked Questions

How do I open an account and start investing with Abbilon?

Simply click on “Start with a Free Plan” or “Let’s Get Started” on the home page and follow the wizard. Takes less than 3 minutes. The Wizard will take you through three simple steps to open an account so you can start investing with Abbilon:

Step 1: Create an Investment Plan. When you click on “Start with a Free Plan” or “Let’s Get Started” we will ask you a few brief questions that will help us get to know you and your financial goals (If you don't know the exact answer to a question, that's ok – simply use your best estimate – you can change it later). After the last question, we will present you with a recommended portfolio of stocks that we believe can best help you achieve your financial goals.

Step 2: Review Your Investment Plan. The investment plan page details what we would buy for you, the percentages we would buy it in, and the projected balance of your account based on certain assumptions (i.e., constant annual savings rate, income increases, and investment returns). Of course, we cannot guarantee investment results – your results may be significantly different. We show you projected performance to illustrate how much wealth you could build saving regularly and investing well. Take your time and explore this investment plan page.

Step 3: Open an Account. Once you're comfortable with your investment plan, click on "open an account." We will ask you a few more questions about your financial profile. Then we will ask you to link your bank account and fund your Abbilon account. Please be sure to read the Client Agreement and Form ADV Part II disclosures before submitting your account application.

Once your account is funded, we will begin implementing your investment plan.

How do I put money in my Abbilon account?

You will need to link you checking or savings account to your Abbilon account. To link your account, we will ask you for your account number and bank routing number. You can obtain both from the bottom of your bank account checks.

Is there a minimum amount required to open a Abbilon account?

No, you can start investing with any amount. But remember that the purpose for investing is to your achieve long term financial goals. Plus, investing in stocks involves risks, including temporary or permanent declines in account value. You should only invest money that you don’t expect to use in the short-term (i.e., less than two years).

How old must I be to open an Abbilon account?

You must be at least 18 years old to open an Abbilon account.

What types of accounts does Abbilon currently support?

Abbilon currently supports the following account types:

• Personal investment accounts (i.e. regular taxable brokerage accounts, not an IRA).

Currently we do not support other types of accounts such as IRAs, 401(k) transfers, Roth IRAs, or Joint accounts. But we hope to have those available soon.

Can I transfer my outside brokerage account into my Abbilon account?

Yes, you can transfer your existing brokerage or investment account from an outside financial institution or broker-dealer in its entirety to your Abbilon Managed Account.

If you wish to transfer an outside account to your Abbilon account, please email us at support@abbilon.com. Write “Account Transfer Request” on the subject line, provide (a) your name, (b) the name of the institution where the account is held, and (c) the account number. We will help you transfer your outside account to Abbilon promptly and smoothly.

How do I deposit money in my Abbilon account?

We currently offer two funding methods:

ACH bank transfers: This option lets you move funds directly between a checking or savings account and your Abbilon account. Once you link your bank account electronically, we transfer your money electronically and allow you to make additional deposits at any time.

In most cases, bank transfers will be deposited into your Abbilon account within two to three business days. Once you have linked a bank account to your Abbilon account, you will also be able to schedule monthly recurring deposits with Autoinvest. The amount you choose to autoinvest will be transfer on the 1st of each month from your bank account to your Abbilon account.

Wire Transfers: This option lets you transfer funds from your bank account to your Abbilon account via wire transfer. To do so, you will need to initiate a wire transfer from your bank account to your Abbilon account. In most cases, the funds will be deposited in your account the next business day after the wire transfer is initiated.

Your funds will be invested immediately thereafter. Please note that your bank may charge a fee for this service.

Is there a minimum amount required to open a Abbilon account?

No, you can start investing with any amount. But remember the purpose for investing is to achieve long term financial goals – not short-term goals or to get rich quickly. You should only invest money in your Abbilon account that you don’t expect to use in the short-term (i.e., less than two years).

How old must I be to open an Abbilon account?

You must be at least 18 years old to open an Abbilon account.

Will I have to submit a copy of my government issued ID?

In some instances, Abbilon will require additional information to verify your identity to open your account. If that's the case, we will ask you to send us a photo of your government issued identification.

Why does Abbilon need my social security number?

The Patriot Act requires all financial institutions to obtain, verify, and record information that identifies each person opening an account. We also require your social security number to issue you a tax reporting form at the end of each year.

Can I open multiple Abbilon accounts?

Yes, you can open more than one account. Some people like to open dedicated accounts for each of their investment needs such as retirement or college education.

What am I investing in?

Abbilon will invest your money primarily in a diversified group of stocks or shares of publicly traded companies. A stock represents a proportional ownership interest in the business that issues it. When you own shares of stocks in a business, you become part owner of that business. Therefore, you are entitled to a proportional share of the profits of that business for as long as you own the stock.

Besides investing in stocks, Abbilon may temporarily put part of your money in shares of money-market funds. Money market funds are considered cash equivalents.

We typically do not invest your money in mutual funds, ETFs or Index Funds.

How does Abbilon select investments for me?

Our investment strategy consists of buying shares of good companies for significantly less than their intrinsic value, and selling them when price and value match. We measure the quality and financial safety of hundreds of publicly traded companies based on financial ratios such as operating margins, return on invested capital, price to free cash flow, etc. To maintain objectivity, we use software to implement mathematical models that provide a rating or score for each company. Similarly, we use software and mathematical models to calculate the intrinsic value of each company. We then select the group of stocks with the most attractive combination of quality and price.

The exact nature, size and quantity of stocks we buy for you will depend on your financial profile and stated goals.

How can I earn money investing in stocks?

Stocks produce earnings in two ways: capital appreciation and dividends.

Capital Appreciation: When a company’s earnings increase, or investors believe a company’s earnings will increase in the future, the market prices of the stock increases - thus creating profits for the owners of that company, its shareholders. The opposite can also happen. If the company’s earnings decline (or investors believe earnings will decline), the price of the stock goes down, thus generating losses for its shareholders.

Dividends: Companies may distribute part of their earnings to shareholders in cash. This is called a dividend. Not all companies pay dividends. Instead, some companies reinvest their earnings internally to try and increase future earnings.

Depending on your financial goals, age, and profile, we will decide whether to buy dividend paying companies (usually large, mature, and stable companies) or non-dividend paying companies (usually known as growth companies).

Is there risk involved in my investments?

Yes. All investments involve risks. The market prices of your investments will change daily - may go up or down. Prices change due to economic conditions, interest rates, company specific news, investors’ sentiments, and many other factors.

The market price of your investments can be higher or lower than the price you paid for them at the time you bought them. You could lose all or part of your original capital. The fact that an investment may have increased in value in the past, does not necessarily mean it will continue to increase, or not decline, in the future.

Is the money invested in my Abbilon Account protected?

Your investments with Abbilon are protected against financial institution failure by the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) up to $500,000. All holdings and cash are held at APEX Clearing Corp. For more information on SIPC insurance, please visit www.sipc.org. Investments are not FDIC insured.

Can I earn dividends from my Abbilon account?

Yes. If we buy stocks of companies that pay dividends for your account, when those companies pay dividends, they will be automatically deposited into your Abbilon account. We will automatically reinvest.

How much does Abbilon charge for its services?

We charge a quarterly management fee of 0.25% of assets under management (“AuM”), or 1% annually, but only in years when your account performance of positive.

Your AuM is calculated based on the total market value of your account at the end of each quarter. The management fee covers both advisory and trading commission costs.

As an example, an account with a balance of $10,000 at the end of the calendar quarter will be charged $25.00. Assuming the same balance each quarter, the account will be charged $100 for the year.

There are no trading commissions, account opening fees, withdrawal fees, or account closing fees.

Statements and confirms are defaulted to electronic delivery. You can request paper confirms and statements if you choose, but there may be a cost associated with such paper confirms or statements. Paper confirm and statement fees will also occur if there is a typo in your email address that causes these documents to be bounced back as undeliverable.

To avoid charges or interruptions, remember to update your email address immediately by logging in and updating your profile.

Will I incur trading costs in addition to the management fee?

No, trading and commission costs are included in the management fee.

Will I have to pay taxes on my investments?

Generally, you must pay taxes on any dividends received or capital gains realized on any investments. However, Abbilon does not provide tax advice. Any specific questions related to your taxes should be directed to a tax professional. For information on the amounts and types of taxes you may incur from your investments, go to http://www.irs.gov/pub/irs-pdf/p550.pdf

Which tax documents should I receive?

You will receive one or more of the following tax documents electronically via e-mail or by logging in to your Abbilon account:

• 1099-B: This form will summarize the proceeds of all your sale transactions from a given year (i.e., 2017). These values must be reported to the IRS when you file your taxes. If you did not sell any investments during the year, you will not receive a 1099-B.

• 1099-DIV: You will receive this form if your investments paid dividends of $10 or more in a calendar year. If you received dividends under this amount, you will not receive this form.

• 1099-INT: You will receive this form if you earned interest of $10 or more that was not previously displayed on the 1099-B. If you received interest under this amount, or if the interest was displayed on the 1099-B, you will not receive this form.

• 1042S: If you are not a US citizen, and if you are subject to income withholding in the United States, you will receive this form to report your income that is subject to withholding.

If your social security number is incorrectly displayed on your tax form, please email us at support@abbilon.com and let us know. We will give you directions on how to update your SSN and request a corrected form.

What is a Bank Transfer or ACH Reversal Fee?

It is a $30.00 fee TPT or Apex will charge clients a transfer of funds is cancelled. This may occur when there are insufficient funds in your bank account, there is a duplicate transaction, the transaction is denied, or when the type of account is incorrect. Abbilon is not responsible for any ACH reversal fees incurred by the user.

I received an overdraft fee because of my Abbilon account. What should I do?

Abbilon reminds all clients to always make sure that their bank account has the proper funds before committing a transfer to their Abbilon account. If, for any reason, transfers/investments made by you (or because of a setting which you configured in the account) are charged back due to insufficient funds or cause an overdraft on your checking account, Abbilon will not be responsible for any of these NSF or overdraft fees charged to you by your bank.

In the event of an Apex Clearing (ACH) bank reversal, you will incur a $30 fee. Abbilon is not responsible for any ACH reversal fees incurred by the client.

Are there early withdrawal fees?

No, there are no early, standard, or other withdrawal fees. It is always free to move money in and out of your Abbilon account.

How do I add funds to my Abbilon Account?

You may add money to your Abbilon Account by logging in, clicking the “Transfer Funds” tab, and following the instructions.

How long does it take to transfer funds to my Abbilon account?

If you are using your bank login information to link your bank account with Abbilon, your transfer will be available within 2-3 business days.

Wire transfers are typically available the next business day.

How much money can I deposit in one day?

You may deposit up to $10,000 per day via bank ACH transfer.

If you wish to transfer a larger amount, you will need to initiate a Wire Transfer from your bank account to your Abbilon account. In most cases, the funds will be deposited in your account the next business day after the wire transfer is initiated. Some banks charge a fee for wire transfers.

Can I withdraw money from my Abbilon account whenever I want?

Of course. You can withdraw your available funds whenever you like. This will typically take 3 to 7 business days before the funds become available in your bank account. Please note that withdrawals for amounts larger than your available cash will take a few extra days because we will need to sell your some or all of your investments first to raise the cash. Per U.S. regulations, sales of stocks take three business days to settle.

Is there a limit to how much money I can withdraw at one time?

No, you may request to withdraw any amount. We do not offer withdrawals with checks. For withdrawals larger than U.S. $10,000, we will need to arrange a wire transfer to your bank account. In such cases, please contact us at support@abbilon.com.

Why does Abbilon need my bank login information?

Abbilon requires your bank login details to link your bank with your Abbilon Managed Account online. Once your bank account is linked, you can transfer funds in and out at no cost.

Does Abbilon store my bank login information?

No. Abbilon does not store your bank login information. This data is never passed to the Abbilon servers during signup.

Is there a limit to the amount of bank accounts I can link to my Abbilon account?

Yes, you may only link one bank account at a time. But you can change it as many times as you need to.

Can I change my bank account or funding account?

Yes, you can change your funding account. Simply log into your Abbilon account, go to the “Bank Transfers” tab, and follow the instructions. Your existing bank account will be automatically deleted and replaced with the new bank account.

Why can't I withdraw money I just deposited?

Abbilon holds new deposits for 5 business days. If you wish to withdraw money--and you already have money in your cash balance--your cash balance amount must be greater than the amount that you deposited. This is so that you can withdraw money from your cash balance without expecting to dip into your deposited money that has not yet cleared. You can withdraw these funds once the 5 days have passed.

When can I withdraw money from my account?

You can withdraw funds from your account anytime. Withdrawals may take 3 to 7 business days. The money shown in your account as “Available Cash” can be withdraw with 2-3 business days. But If you request to withdraw more than the available cash balance, we will need to sell all or part of your holdings. keep in mind that, in compliance with U.S. regulations, stock sales take three business days to settle. Business days are Monday through Friday, and do not include weekends and federal holidays. After three business days, the proceeds from your stock sales will be added to your available cash balance and a withdrawal request processed.

Why was my withdrawal rejected?

If you change your funding account with Abbilon and then attempt to withdraw funds that originated from a different account, our bank will reject that withdrawal. This occurs to protect you and to prevent fraudulent activity. If this happens, email support@abbilon.com and we can speak with our bank and approve the withdrawal. We may need additional documentation from you to prove that you are the owner of the bank account.

What is Abbilon?

Abbilon Investments is an online investment adviser. Our mission is to help individual investors achieve permanent financial success. We pursue this mission by facilitating automatic savings and putting those savings to work intelligently in stocks of great companies when they are cheap.

How is Abbilon different from other investment advisors?

We are different from traditional investment advisers in two important ways:

First, Superior Returns Over Time: Unlike other investment advisers, we recommend portfolios of individual company stocks, not mutual funds, ETFs or index funds (“Funds”). We believe owning shares of good companies directly has three distinct advantages over owning Funds:

• Higher Potential Returns.When you invest in Funds or “asset allocation strategies” your returns are limited to market averages such as the S&P 500 index. Historically, the S&P 500 index has returned annual compounded averages of about 10% - but average investors have historically earned much less. This is due primarily to bad investment decisions and high fees. By putting your money in individual company stocks using software, our goal is help you earn significantly higher than market average returns over time. For example, compounded over long periods, earning 15% instead of 10% can be the difference between simply enduring life and actually enjoying life.

• Lower Taxes. By investing directly in stocks, you incur tax liabilities only when you sell at a profit. By owning Funds, you may be exposed to certain tax liabilities even if you don’t sell. Additionally, when you sell your stocks at a gain, which can be upset by selling other stocks at a loss. With this trade-off, it is easier to harvest tax losses and pay much lower taxes over time.

• Lower Risks. The primary cause of individual investors failure is their own emotional overreaction to temporary events – buying too high or selling when markets decline. We use software to help us decide when to buy or sell securities. This minimizes the effects of human errors and emotional, short-sighted decisions. Additionally, by buying only companies we understand, and only when prices are below intrinsic value, we create a margin of safety that inherently reduces the risk of permanent loss.

Client-Friendly Fee Structure: We don’t charge a management fee unless you earn money. For any calendar year in which your performance is negative, we will waive or reimburse the management fee - we only get paid when you make money.

What is Abbilon’s investment philosophy?

The following principles guide our investment strategies:

1. All financial assets have an Intrinsic Value (defined as the present value of all the cash the asset will produce in the future).

2. We can estimate the Intrinsic Value of many assets, although certainly not all assets – within a reasonable degree of accuracy.

3. Market price often differs from Intrinsic Value (sometimes significantly), but sooner or later price and value will match.

4. If we can purchase stocks of different companies at prices significantly below Intrinsic Value (with a large margin of error for bad estimates, un-anticipated changes, etc), there is a strong probability that, as a group, those purchases will produce large profits over a long period of years.

What types of investments will I own in my Abbilon account?

Your investments will consist primarily of stocks. Our investment objective is to generate superior returns on your money over the long run. We pursue this objective primarily by purchasing stocks of companies we believe have high fundamental quality, strong financial condition, and favorable long-term prospects. We try to mitigate potential loss of capital by purchasing stocks in a diverse group of companies – typically 12 to 25 companies – at prices significantly below what they are worth to a private owner.

This strategy only works if you are patient and truly have a long-term investment goal.

Where will the money in my account be held?

The custodian for the assets in your account will be Apex Clearing Corporation, a member SIPC and FINRA. We will not have the authority to withdraw or transfer your money. Only you can do that.

How does Abbilon execute trades for my account?

We use Third Party Trade LLC, an introducing broker/dealer, member FINRA and SIPC. When executing trades on your behalf, we may combine your trades with similar trades in the same securities for other clients. This is known as an “aggregated” or “bunched” trade. We do this to facilitate the trading of securities and treat all clients fairly. The prices we obtain in bunched trades may be higher or lower than the prices obtain if trades were executed individually.

Does Abbilon receive payments or other benefits for executing trades?

No. We do not get paid for executing trades with TPT or any other broker-dealer.

Does Abbilon sell, lend or share my personal private information to third parties?

No. We do not, and will not, share your personal information such as name, address, social security or account holdings with anyone except as necessary to conduct securities transactions or if mandated by law.

Is Abbilon regulated by any Federal or State Agencies?

Yes. Abbilon is registered with the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”). Registration does not imply a certain level of skill or training, nor does it imply endorsement by the SEC.

As a registered investment adviser, however, we have a fiduciary duty to act always in the best interest of our clients. We must comply with all the rules and regulations under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, as amended. We must also file Form ADV with the SEC and disclose certain information about our business practices and activities. For more information, you can check our registration and filings at the SEC’s website at https://www.sec.gov/reportspubs/investor-publications/investor-brokershtm.html.