To understand the meaning of Available to Invest, it’s important to first understand the processing time (also known as settlement time). This refers to the time it takes for funds or assets to reach their new destination after executing a transaction (whether it’s withdrawals, deposits, or buy and sell orders).
This time may vary, but generally, it takes two business days for a transaction to settle, meaning for the money to “enter the account.” However, this does not mean you can’t use your money.
Thus, Available to Invest is the amount of money you have ready to purchase assets in the app, regardless of the settlement time for your funds.
This amount can either come from funds you transfer as a deposit into your app account or from the proceeds of asset trades you execute (sell orders).
In other words…
Deposits: Since your investment account within the Vest app is 100% U.S.-based, this means that any transfer made from your country’s account to your app account is considered an international transfer. As a result, it may take up to 5 business days to process effectively (depending on the type of deposit you make).
Asset trades (sell orders): If you sell a stock today, you can use the funds immediately, instead of waiting the standard two business days for settlement to request a withdrawal of that money.
To ensure you don’t have to wait for the full settlement time in either case, we advance the funds to your Vest account. This amount will appear as “Available to Invest” in the “Portfolio” section, even if the deposit or sale hasn’t been 100% completed yet.
Once the deposit or pending sell order is fully completed, if you have already used the funds, the negative balance in your account will be settled automatically
Securities trading is offered through Northbound Securities LLC, an affiliate of Vest