In the process of trying to move money into my stock brokerage account today, I bumped up against transfer limits laid out in Federal Reserve Regulation D. This regulation stipulates that the number of withdrawals from savings and money market accounts cannot exceed 6 in a single month. The aim is apparently to prevent the public from using savings/money market as checking accounts, frequently transferring small sums of money into the checking accounts on an as-needed basis, so that banks can count on a certain amount of float in their no-interest checking accounts. The only forms of withdrawals exempted from the 6-per-month limit are those that are so inconvenient as to ensure that they will not be frequently used (withdrawals by mail, personal visits to the branch, or ATMs).
I’ve been doing ACH transfers from my money market account to my brokerage quite frequently the past week to buy stocks that have been beaten down by the recent market volatility and now present good value. Fortunately, it seems that the one-month period rolls over on the 20th of every month, so I can transfer money again after the 20th. Nonetheless, I’m going to try and limit myself to one transfer a week from now on.
