Account Information

Note:

The Account Info page is one of the most important pages that you will complete in the account wizard. The Account Wizard is a smart form that displays the necessary information to you, based on what you enter. Each thing that you choose on this page drives the experience you will have with the Wizard. Additionally, choosing the correct details here determines what paperwork will be part of the required bundle.

FIELD	DESCRIPTION
CLIENT TYPE	Choose EITHER New or Existing for the client type. One is required.
New	Choose New if this is a new client. You have not written business with this client before. Choosing new does not impact whether you can load a client’s information from the contact manager.
Existing	Choose Existing if this an existing client. An existing client is one with whom you have already written business. Choosing new does not impact whether you can load a client’s information from the contact manager.
ACCOUNT TYPE	Select ALL account types that apply to your submission. If you are working on an existing account, do not select any of the choices.
New Account	A new account designation is used by the system in many ways. In part, it indicates what paperwork is required. When an account is marked as a New Account, it triggers the required welcome letter be sent to the client. Always choose New Account if this is a new registration type for an existing client.
Account Update	Select this when you are submitting an updated Client Account Form. It can be selected alone or in combination with any of the other types. When an account is marked as an Account Update, it triggers the required update letter be sent to the client. Account Update should be chosen if you are updating any information for a client. This will require you to submit a new client account form.
Address Change	Check this box if the client has a new address. Address Change generates an address change confirmation letter to the client’s new and old address. Operations will also change addresses on brokerage accounts if an account is submitted with an address change.
ACCOUNT CUSTODIAN	Select EITHER Direct or Brokerage If you have a direct and brokerage account for a client, they cannot be submitted together. Two account wizard submissions must be submitted. If you have a new client, we recommend entering their information into the contact manager first so that you only have to enter the common client data once.
Direct (Held at Sponsor Company)	Direct accounts are those held directly at the product or sponsor company. This is most commonly thought of as check-and-app business. Third-party money managers (Schwab, TD, Curian, etc.) are considered direct business as well. You can also tell that an account is a direct account if the client’s statement comes from the product company.
Brokerage (Held at National Financial)	Brokerage accounts are custodied at National Financial. These are accounts that can be viewed on Streetscape and the client account statement comes from National Financial.
SUBMISSION TYPE	Select ALL submission types that apply for each submission. Depending on the type of business you are submitting, you may need to check multiple items to correctly submit your business.
Transaction	A transaction is a buy, sell, exchange or switch. Select transaction any time you have a buy, sell, exchange or switch. It can be selected alone or with any of the other submission types. Items marked transaction will be added automatically to your required compliance transaction blotter.
Broker Dealer Change	Select this if you have a broker dealer change. It can be selected with any of the submission types or individually.
ACAT	Select this when you are transferring an account from one firm to another. Is only used for NFS accounts. This cannot be selected when the account custodian is direct.
Add Feature	For National Financial brokerage accounts only. Select Add Feature whenever you want to add optional features (like margin or checkwriting) to a brokerage account. Add Feature can be checked as a stand-alone submission type to add features to an existing brokerage account. Check Add Feature with New Account and Brokerage to add features for a new brokerage account. This cannot be selected when the account custodian is direct. A list of features and their descriptions are included in the Add Feature section of this guide.
Managed Account	Select Managed Account when opening/updating a managed account (this is used for either brokerage or direct). Assets can be custodied at National Financial or directly with a 3rd party manager (Schwab, FTJ, etc.) When you choose Managed, additional questions will be presented to you, allowing you to indicate if the submission will be Direct (for 3rd Party managers) or National Financial (for MAS accounts). When you choose Managed Account, you will be prompted to answer the following additional questions. If you do not know which RIA to choose, please contact the managed money department. They can assist you. For Which RIA? BFCFS: choose BFCFS when the managed account will be opened under the Berthel Fisher & Company Financial Services RIA. BFC Planning: Choose BFC Planning when the managed account will be opened under the BFC Planning RIA. If you choose this, you will be redirected to the Account Wizard in the www.bfcplanning.com portal. Outside RIA: choose Outside RIA if the managed account will be opened under your own RIA. Is this Account? MAS Account Investment Advisor Account Is Discretionary? Indicated if the account is discretionary or not by selecting either Yes or No.
ACCOUNT DETAILS
Account Title	Best Practice: Be a specific as possible. In addition to the registration type, we recommend including the names and roles of each associated owner in the account title. The below shows some example account titles: For Prototype and Non-Prototype Qualified plans, please include the type of plan in the account title. For example, a 401(k) plan would have the account title: The United Farm Workers 401(k) Plan The account title is saved along with the account information. The account title is used to easily locate prior submissions and load them into the account wizard.
Registration Type	Choose one registration type per submission. If you have multiple registration types for a client, you will need to submit a Client Account Form and Account Wizard item for each registration type. Choosing the correct registration type is critical. The registration type determines which information is displayed in the wizard and also what paperwork is added to the LaserApp bundle and the upload list on the paperwork page. The Required Paperwork Guide provides a comprehensive overview of what paperwork is required for each registration type.
Account Number	This field is required for existing accounts brokerage accounts. If you are submitting a new brokerage account, the home office will add the account number after the account is setup at National Financial. Account #’s can be added for direct accounts, but the info is not required.
REPRESENTATIVE INFORMATION
Representative	This field is used to designate the Representative and Rep Number for this submission. Your default Rep name and number will show when you start a submission in the Account Wizard. If you have multiple rep numbers, you can change the selection by using the drop down arrow. If you are a sales assistant or a Rep with shared business, you will see multiple rep names in the Representative drop down field. Always choose the Rep name first, then the rep number. Sales assistants will be able to choose from among the Reps that they support. If you are missing a rep name or number, please contact the tech support desk.
Additional Reps	Use this field to select an additional rep name if more than one Rep is responsible for this account.
Does This Account Include?	Select ALL of the supporting items that apply to this transaction.
A Check or Certificate	Check this to add the check/certificate page to the side menu on the account wizard. Select this when the submission includes a check or certificate. It can be selected in combination with any of the above types. Items marked Check/Certificate will be added to your online check/certificate blotter. FOR CHECK/CERTS ONLY: If you only have a check or certificate (no other paperwork), you should not enter it via the Account Wizard. Go directly to the Check Blotter and enter the info there. It will be quicker than entering the info via the Account Wizard.
A Signature Guarantee	Check this box to add the signature guarantee form to the paperwork bundle. This also provides a place to upload the form on the paperwork page.
A Pending Trade	Checking this will activate a prioritized status for the submission which lets the home office know that a trade is pending for the National Financial brokerage account.
Originals to the Home Office	If you have any original paperwork that needs to go the home office, check this item. A special status will be assigned to the item in the home office work queues. This notifies the home office staff to be on the lookout for the arrival of the original paperwork.
Beneficiaries That Need Updated	Adds the beneficiaries screen to the wizard so that you can enter the beneficiary information for the account.