Frequently Asked Questions
Your Questions, Answered.
Why Max?
Trillions of dollars sit in U.S. bank and brokerage accounts, often not fully insured and under-earning their potential. As a result, American households are missing out on billions of dollars of interest income each year. We’re here to change that.
We believe in bringing efficiency and transparency to markets. With our patented approach to cash management, we’re able to help you earn more on your cash, without it leaving your own bank accounts.
If you’re frustrated that the cash sitting in your bank or brokerage account isn’t earning enough, Max can help.
What does Max do?
Max can help you earn more on your cash, no matter where you bank or invest. Max also helps you obtain more FDIC insurance coverage, up to $2 million per individual or $8 million per couple based on the number of online banks currently supported on the Max platform.
With Max, you can link your existing checking account or new Max Checking account to higher-yielding savings accounts at some of the nation’s leading FDIC-insured online banks. The Max Common Application makes it easy for you to open new accounts in as little as 60 seconds.
Max then keeps an eye out for changes in interest rates, proposing to you a monthly allocation of your cash among your bank(s) that offer the best rates, while keeping your balances below the FDIC insurance limit at each bank.
Max also helps you maintain a target checking account balance each month and includes a number of other helpful features that make it easy to manage multiple bank accounts, including the ability to see all balances on one screen, instruct Max, with one click, to send your funds transfer instructions to your banks on your behalf, and obtain all 1099-INT tax forms in a single PDF.
How does Max work?
Max helps you allocate your cash across a network of trusted online banks offering market-leading interest rates, maximizing your interest earnings and FDIC insurance coverage.
By helping you spread your cash across multiple high-yield savings accounts, Max helps ensure market-leading returns and increased FDIC insurance coverage.
Max’s patented service monitors changing interest rates daily. Each month, Max helps you allocate your cash based on the parameters you set. Max then passes along your transfer instructions to your banks so that they can optimally allocate your funds among your own accounts. We call this an “Optimization.”
During each optimization, your cash will flow between your high-yield savings accounts via a central checking account. This checking account links your accounts together so you can keep your existing bank relationships and track transfers through a central account.
You are always in full control of when and how you allocate your funds among your own bank accounts, and you can change system settings at any time. You also retain full control over each account individually, so while Max provides a single dashboard where you can see all of your accounts and request funds transfers, you can also move, deposit, or withdraw your money directly with your banks as needed.
Is Max for Me?
Max is designed for individuals, couples, and those holding trusts who are interested in earning higher yield while benefitting from increased FDIC insurance coverage. There is almost no limit to the amount of cash that Max can help you optimize. There is also no minimum balance requirement, however, most of our members use Max to optimize between $50,000 and $5 million of cash. Many of our members are introduced to Max by their financial advisors, who can make it even easier to get started.
FDIC insurance is a function of the number of bank accounts linked to Max and how those accounts are titled. Given the current number of online banks supported on the Max platform, an individual can link eight online savings accounts to Max to obtain up to $2 million of incremental FDIC insurance. Joint accounts can be insured for up to $4 million. Couples seeking even greater FDIC insurance coverage can open three Max accounts –— one in the name of each spouse and a third in their names jointly, with corresponding sets of online savings accounts —– to obtain up to $8 million of FDIC insurance coverage. FDIC insurance for revocable or living trusts varies according to the FDIC’s rules governing revocable trusts. As Max adds support for additional online banks, the amount of FDIC insurance coverage available will increase further.
If you have tens of millions of dollars in cash, or hold cash within an irrevocable trust or business account, you might be interested in our partner solution for complex trusts, foundations, non-profits, and commercial accounts, which can address extremely high-balance accounts. More information is available here.
Is There a Minimum Balance to Join Max?
There is no minimum balance required to use Max. Many of our members start by optimizing smaller balances, and then grow their balances over time as they become comfortable with how Max works. While many Max members hold large cash balances, we’ve worked hard to make Max accessible to anyone who seeks to more intelligently optimize the cash that they hold in their bank or brokerage accounts.
How Much Does Max Cost?
Membership in Max costs just 0.04% per quarter, or $40 per $100,000 held in your savings accounts, subject to a minimum of $20 every 3 months.
How Do I Join?
You can join Max here. Enter your name, email address, and telephone number. Then, you can open a new Max Checking account or link your existing checking account; you can then open or link one or more online savings accounts. If you don’t already have online savings accounts, you can use the Max Common Application to open new accounts in as little as 60 seconds. Finally, tell Max to start your first optimization. Thereafter, each month Max proposes how you can optimize your cash allocation, helping you earn as much as possible while keeping your funds FDIC-insured.
You can also download our one-page Setup Guide to help walk you through the process.
What Happens After I Join?
Max works quietly in the background, keeping an eye out for the best rates, and proposes to you how you can move your cash to your highest-yielding accounts each month so you can maximize your earnings, even as rates change. You can view your balances at any time and track the status of all your transfers on your Max Dashboard. If you need cash same day, you can always call your banks directly to request a wire transfer since all funds remain in your own bank accounts held directly in your own name.
Can I Cancel at Any Time?
Yes, you may cancel at any time. Max calculates and bills your membership fee 15 days after the completion of your first optimization and every 3 months thereafter. Upon cancellation, no further fees will be payable, but no credits are given for partial quarters.
Upon cancellation of your Max membership, you retain full access to all of your savings accounts, but Max will no longer propose to you how to optimize your accounts, and you will no longer have access to the Max Dashboard, Intelligent Funds Transfers℠, Consolidated Tax Reporting and other features.
What is Max?
Max is an intelligent cash management service designed to help you earn higher yields without sacrificing safety or liquidity.
With Max, you can earn more while maintaining direct access to your cash in your own FDIC-insured bank accounts, titled directly in your own name. Our patented approach to cash management helps you easily open high-yield savings accounts with trusted banks and optimally distribute funds based on current interest rates and FDIC insurance limits. When rates change, Max helps you continue earning the highest yields while keeping your funds insured.
Founded by Six Trees Capital LLC in 2013, Max is led by an experienced management team with backgrounds in banking, wealth management, and technology and is guided by an esteemed Board of Advisors.
Max operates independently and is not affiliated with any bank or brokerage business. We have a strict privacy policy and do not accept advertisements, cross-sell other products, or sell your personal information to third parties. Max charges a nominal membership fee to help cover its operating costs, and you receive 100% of the interest income earned directly from each bank. With this model, Max is able to operate transparently so that we can focus on one thing: your best interest.
How does Max work?
Max helps you allocate your cash across a network of trusted online banks offering market-leading interest rates, maximizing your interest earnings and FDIC insurance coverage.
By helping you spread your cash across multiple high-yield savings accounts, Max helps ensure market-leading returns and increased FDIC insurance coverage.
Max’s patented service monitors changing interest rates daily. Each month, Max helps you allocate your cash based on the parameters you set. Max then passes along your transfer instructions to your banks so that they can optimally allocate your funds among your own accounts. We call this an “Optimization.”
During each optimization, your cash will flow between your high-yield savings accounts via a central checking account. This checking account links your accounts together so you can keep your existing bank relationships and track transfers through a central account.
You are always in full control of when and how you allocate your funds among your own bank accounts, and you can change system settings at any time. You also retain full control over each account individually, so while Max provides a single dashboard where you can see all of your accounts and request funds transfers, you can also move, deposit, or withdraw your money directly with your banks as needed.
How do Optimizations work?
During an optimization, Max will help you allocate your cash optimally to help you earn more.
Once a month, Max will help you optimize your accounts according to your settings. You can pause, suspend, or change the date of your monthly optimization, and you can initiate an “on-demand” optimization from your Max Dashboard whenever you like.
During an optimization, Max will calculate a set of transfers to help you move your funds to your highest-yielding savings accounts. Once your highest-yielding account is full up to the FDIC insurance limit, your remaining funds will go to your next-highest-yielding bank account, and so on, until all your funds have been allocated across your bank accounts. This enables you to earn the highest returns while also keeping your funds fully insured. All funds transfers flow through your central checking account so you can track your transfers through one account. With Max, your funds transfers are handled by your own banks and typically take 1-2 business days. Some transfers are even completed same-day.
Max does not have the authority to open new bank accounts without your authorization, so funds will only flow between the accounts that you have opened. Max makes it easy to open multiple accounts at once using the patented Max Common Application. The more accounts you open, the more flexibility Max will have to help you earn the highest yields.
What is Max Checking?
Max Checking is a central account that can be opened instantly during enrollment, making it easy to connect your existing bank and brokerage accounts to Max’s proprietary network of high-yield savings accounts.
By selecting Max Checking as your central account, you can deposit a discrete amount of funds into Max while keeping your day-to-day checking account separate from your monthly Max optimizations.
Max Checking is an FDIC-insured account powered by Customers Bank which offers a yield of 0.20% APY, same-day ACH transfers, free domestic wire transfers, and no monthly fee.
How much can I earn?
Max partners with some of the most competitive online banks that consistently offer market-leading rates.
The leading “brick-and-mortar” banks currently offer between zero and 0.15% annual percentage yield (APY) on deposits. By contrast, because of their lower overhead costs, online banks are able to pay higher rates. At current interest rates, a typical customer can expect to earn up to 3.62% on deposits every year by using Max. In many cases, Max has access to preferred rates not available to the general public.
Learn more about the benefits of active cash management.
See how much you can earn with Max here.
What does Max cost?
Membership in Max costs 16 basis points (0.16%) per year, billed quarterly, subject to a $20 quarterly minimum.
Your quarterly membership fee is calculated as the product of i) the total balances held in your high-yield savings accounts and ii) four basis points (0.04%). If your savings account balance is less than $50,000, you will be billed a flat $20 per quarter. This $20 minimum is waived for clients with a linked financial advisor.
There are no incremental fees for funds transfers and the banks supported on the Max platform have all agreed to waive all minimums and monthly fees. Some banks may charge a fee if you request a wire transfer outside of Max, but Max Checking includes unlimited free domestic wire transfers.
What is my relationship with the banks?
With Max, you don’t need to switch banks. Max helps you supplement your existing banking relationship with additional banks that are willing to pay higher interest rates. You maintain a direct relationship with all of your banks, so you always have access to your funds.
Unlike other fintech solutions or insured cash sweep programs, Max never takes custody of your funds, so you can rest assured that your cash is liquid and held directly in your own FDIC-insured bank accounts at all times.
We recommend using Max as the central dashboard to manage your accounts. However, you can also access your funds directly with the underlying banks. For your protection, some activities, such as changing your address, must be handled directly by your banks.
How do Transfers work and how long do they take?
Transfers are executed via the ACH network and typically take 1-2 business days.
With Max, your cash is transferred by your banks via your central checking account. Your central checking account is designed to link all your accounts together, so you can easily track all deposits, withdrawals, and optimizations.
ACH transfers typically take 1-2 business days, but if you need funds sooner, you can contact your banks directly to request a wire transfer. Max Checking also offers unlimited free domestic wire transfers.
What is the setup process?
Getting started with Max typically takes 5-10 minutes. After this one-time setup process, you can earn more forever.
You may have received an invitation to join Max from your financial advisor, but if you don’t have an advisor you can join Max on your own here. Enter your name, email address, and telephone number to get started. Then you can use the patented Max Common Application to open new high-yield savings accounts in as little as 60 seconds.
To ensure your deposits can be fully FDIC-insured, we recommend opening at least one online savings account for every $250,000 of cash you wish to optimize. The more accounts you open, the more flexibility Max will have in helping you earn the highest yields.
Max will ask you a few questions to configure your optimization settings. Then, you can link your funding institution and make your first deposit or fund your account by wire transfer. There is no minimum balance required to use Max. Many of our members start by optimizing smaller balances and then grow their balances over time as they become comfortable with how Max works.
If you sign up on your own, you can add your financial advisor’s name and email address on your Profile page. Your advisor will then be able to see up-to-date balance information for each of your linked accounts, but will not be able to link new accounts, send transfer instructions to your banks, or take any other action on your behalf. With Max, you remain in complete control.
What happens during Tax time?
Max includes a helpful feature called Consolidated Tax Reporting.
Each online bank will prepare a 1099-INT statement for any accounts that have earned at least $10 in interest during the prior year.
Upon your request, Max will request your 1099-INT statements from each of your banks and deliver them to you by email in a single password-protected PDF file.
Certain banks report all interest-bearing accounts on a single 1099-INT form. If you have other accounts at the same bank, such as checking, savings, or CDs, interest earned for those accounts may also appear on your 1099-INT statement.
Is Max secure?
Max was designed from the ground up with security in mind and has been analyzed and tested by leading experts in cybersecurity.
The overall design of Max provides additional safeguards to help ensure that your banks move your funds only between your own accounts. All funds transfers are executed by your banks, not by Max. Max never touches your money, so your cash stays FDIC-insured in your own bank accounts at all times. Unlike other cash sweep solutions, there are no “omnibus accounts” “sub-ledgers” or other intermediaries that stand between you and your money. Max was conceived with the simple design principle that your cash is always safest when you hold it directly in your own FDIC-insured bank accounts.
In addition to security, Max also cares about your privacy and understands that the best way to protect your data is not to retain it unnecessarily. For example, Max permanently deletes sensitive personal information, such as your social security number, after it is securely transmitted to your chosen banks. Max has strict privacy policies and does not accept advertising or sell your information to third parties.
Read about the extensive measures we’ve taken to protect your privacy and the security of your accounts.
How do I contact Max?
Max is eager to answer any other questions you might have.
Please contact us or refer to our Knowledge Base for more information.
What is Max?
Max is an intelligent cash management service designed to help your clients earn higher yields without sacrificing safety or liquidity.
With Max, your clients can earn more while maintaining direct access to their cash in their own FDIC-insured bank accounts, titled directly in their name. Our patented approach to cash management helps clients easily open high-yield savings accounts with trusted banks and optimally distribute funds based on current interest rates and FDIC insurance limits. When rates change, Max members continue to earn the highest yields while keeping their funds insured.
Founded by Six Trees Capital LLC in 2013, Max is led by an experienced management team with backgrounds in banking, wealth management, and technology and is guided by an esteemed Board of Advisors.
Max operates independently and is not affiliated with any bank or brokerage business. We have a strict privacy policy and do not accept advertisements, cross-sell other products, or sell personal information to third parties. Max is free to advisors. Clients pay a nominal membership fee to help cover Max’s operating costs; in turn your clients receive 100% of the interest income earned directly from each bank. With this model, Max is able to operate transparently so that we can focus on one thing: your clients’ best interest.
How does Max work?
Max helps clients allocate their cash across a network of trusted online banks offering market-leading interest rates, maximizing their interest earnings and FDIC insurance coverage.
By helping clients spread cash across multiple high-yield savings accounts, Max helps ensure market-leading returns and increased FDIC insurance coverage.
Max’s patented service monitors changing interest rates daily. Each month, Max calculates an optimal allocation of your clients’ cash based on the parameters they set. Max then passes along their transfer instructions to their banks to optimally allocate their funds across their own accounts. We call this an “Optimization.”
During each optimization, your clients’ cash will flow between their high-yield savings accounts via a central checking account. This checking account links your clients’ accounts together so they can keep their existing bank relationships and track transfers through one account.
Max members are always in full control of how and when funds are allocated, and they can change their system settings at any time. Clients also retain full control over each account individually, so while Max provides a single dashboard where they can see all of their accounts and request funds transfers, they can also move, deposit, or withdraw their money directly with their banks as needed.
How do Optimizations work?
During an optimization, Max will help your clients allocate their cash optimally to help them earn more.
Once a month, Max will help your clients optimize their accounts according to their settings. They can pause, suspend, or change the date of their monthly optimization and can also initiate an “on-demand” optimization from the Max Dashboard whenever they like.
During an optimization, Max will calculate a set of transfers to help your clients allocate their funds to their highest-yielding savings accounts. Once the highest-yielding account is full up to the FDIC insurance limit, the remaining funds will go to the next-highest-yielding bank account, and so on, until all funds are allocated across their bank accounts. This enables your clients to earn the highest returns while keeping their funds fully insured. All funds transfers flow through their central checking account. Transfers are handled by your clients’ own banks and typically take 1-2 business days to be completed, although some transfers occur same-day.
Max does not have the authority to open new bank accounts without your clients’ authorization, so funds will only flow between the accounts they have opened. Max makes it easy to open multiple accounts at once using the patented Max Common Application. The more accounts opened, the more flexibility Max will have to help your clients earn the highest yields.
What is Max Checking?
Max Checking is an integrated checking account, available during enrollment, that connects all deposits, withdrawals, and optimizations on Max.
Max Checking is an integrated checking account that opens in as little as 60 seconds and helps connect your clients’ existing bank and brokerage accounts to Max’s proprietary network of high-yield savings accounts.
By enrolling in Max Checking, clients can deposit a discrete amount of funds into Max and keep their day-to-day checking account separate from their monthly optimizations.
Max Checking is an FDIC-insured account powered by Customers Bank which offers a yield of 0.20% APY, same-day ACH transfers, free domestic wire transfers, and no monthly fee.
How much can clients earn?
Max partners with some of the most competitive online banks that consistently offer market-leading rates.
The leading “brick-and-mortar” banks currently offer between zero and 0.15% annual percentage yield (APY) on deposits. By contrast, because of their lower overhead costs, online banks are able to pay higher rates. At current interest rates, a typical client can expect to earn up to 3.62% on deposits every year by using Max. In many cases, the rates available via Max are preferred rates that are not available to the general public.
Learn more about the benefits of active cash management.
See how much you can earn with Max here.
What does Max cost?
Membership in Max costs 16 basis points (0.16%) per year, billed quarterly.
The Max quarterly membership fee is calculated as the product of i) the total balances held in your clients’ high-yield savings accounts and ii) four basis points (0.04%). Clients of financial advisors are not subject to any minimum fees so long as they agree to share their balance data with you. (Max members who don’t have a financial advisor are subject to a $20 quarterly minimum.)
There are no incremental fees for funds transfers and the banks supported on the Max platform have all agreed to waive all minimums and monthly fees. Some banks may charge a fee for wire transfers requested outside of Max, but Max Checking includes unlimited free domestic wire transfers.
How safe are client funds?
With Max, clients hold funds directly in their own bank accounts, so they always have direct access to their funds.
Unlike other fintech solutions or insured cash sweep programs, Max never takes custody of clients’ funds, so they can rest assured that their cash is liquid and held directly in their own FDIC-insured bank accounts at all times.
We recommend that clients use Max as the central dashboard to manage their accounts. However, clients can also access funds directly with the underlying banks. For your clients’ protection, some activities, such as changing their home address, must be handled directly by the banks.
How do Transfers work and how long do they take?
Transfers are executed via the ACH network and typically take 1-2 business days.
With Max, cash is transferred by the banks via your clients’ central checking account. The central checking account is designed to link all your clients’ accounts together, so they can easily track all deposits, withdrawals, and optimizations.
ACH transfers typically take 1-2 business days, but if your client needs funds sooner they can contact their banks directly to request a wire transfer. Max Checking also offers unlimited free domestic wire transfers.
What is the setup process?
Getting started with Max typically takes 5-10 minutes. After this one-time setup process, clients can earn more forever.
As an advisor, you can send a custom invitation to your clients and pre-fill the application form for them, either manually from your Max Advisor Dashboard or through Max’s existing one-click integrations with leading advisor CRMs such as Redtail and Wealthbox.
Clients can also join directly via Max’s website. Clients will be prompted to enter their name, email address, and telephone number to get started. Then they can use the patented Max Common Application to open new high-yield savings accounts in as little as 60 seconds.
To ensure deposits can be fully FDIC-insured, we recommend that clients open at least one online savings account for every $250,000 of cash they wish to optimize. The more accounts opened, the more flexibility Max will have in helping clients earn the highest yields. Advisors have the option to pre-select bank accounts for their clients.
Max will ask your client a few questions to configure their optimization settings. Then, they can link their funding institution and make their first deposit, or advisors can move funds in via ACH or wire. There is no minimum balance required to use Max. Many clients start by optimizing smaller balances and then grow their balances over time as they become comfortable with how Max works. In the process, advisors can discover held-away assets, which can lead to more holistic planning discussions and growth in AUM.
If you invite your client to use Max, you will automatically be granted read-only visibility into your clients’ accounts. If your client signs up on their own, they can add you as their financial advisor during enrollment or later on their Profile page. As an advisor, you will be able to see up-to-date balance information for each of your clients’ linked accounts.
What happens at Tax time?
Max includes a helpful feature called Consolidated Tax Reporting.
Each online bank will prepare a 1099-INT statement for any accounts that have earned at least $10 in interest during the prior year.
Upon your client’s request, Max will request 1099-INT statements from each of their banks and deliver them to your client by email in a single password-protected PDF file. Your client can also check a box to cc: you on their Consolidated Tax Report.
Is Max secure?
Max was designed from the ground up with security in mind and has been analyzed and tested by leading experts in cybersecurity.
The overall design of Max provides additional safeguards to help ensure that banks move funds only between your client’s own accounts. All funds transfers are executed by your clients’ banks, not by Max. Max never touches clients’ money, so cash stays FDIC-insured in clients’ own bank accounts at all times. Unlike other cash sweep solutions, there are no “omnibus accounts,” “sub-ledgers,” or other intermediaries that stand between clients and their cash. Max was conceived with the simple design principle that cash is always safest when it is held directly in clients’ own FDIC-insured bank accounts.
In addition to security, Max also cares about privacy and understands that the best way to protect client data is not to retain it unnecessarily. For example, Max permanently deletes sensitive personal information, such as social security numbers, after it is securely transmitted to the banks. Max has strict privacy policies and does not accept advertising, cross-sell other products, or sell information to third parties.
Read about the extensive measures we’ve taken to protect the privacy and security of client accounts.
How do I contact Max?
Max is eager to answer any other questions you might have.
Interested advisors can schedule a 15-minute Q&A call or 30-minute demo here.
For inquiries related to a client using Max, please contact clientsupport@maxmyinterest.com.
We also encourage you to visit our Knowledge Base for more information.
Are business and trust accounts supported?
Several of the online banks support revocable trusts, either by titling the account in the name of the trust or naming the trust as a Payable On Death (POD) beneficiary. Refer to our guide to Support for Trust Accounts for additional detail. To help you better support business owners, non-profits, and clients with complex trusts, we work with The American Deposit Management Co., which offers competitive rates and extended FDIC insurance on all balances over $250,000. Learn more here, or on the Max Advisor Dashboard. Rates are subject to change.