Where your money actually is when you use Autopilot: allocation, custody, and why the app's balance won't match your brokerage balance

I'm Chris, co-founder of Autopilot. The most common question we get isn't about a Pilot or a fee. It's "where is my money?" Fair question, because the app shows you a balance, your brokerage shows you a balance, and they don't match. Here's exactly where the money sits, what "allocating" means, what we can and can't do with it, and why the two numbers differ.

One thing first, because we're an SEC-registered investment adviser and I have to say it. Autopilot is the app. The actual investment advice comes from Autopilot Advisers, LLC. If you want the full legal version of anything in here, it's on our disclaimer page.

1) Your money never moves

Allocating money to a Portfolio is not a transfer. No bank transfer happens, no money changes hands, and nothing leaves your brokerage. Your brokerage is the custodian: it holds the cash and the shares, sends the statements, and issues the tax documents. We don't hold client funds and we don't hold securities. When you "allocate" an amount, you're telling us how much of your brokerage buying power we're allowed to use to follow the Portfolio you picked. That's the whole meaning of the word.

So there is no Autopilot account with your money in it. There's your brokerage account, and there's an instruction attached to part of it.

2) What we can do, and what we can't

You give Autopilot Advisers limited authority to send orders to that account. When the Portfolio changes, we send them and your broker fills them. The money stays put.

The authority has edges. We can send orders up to the amount you allocated, and no more. We can't withdraw your funds, and we can't move money out of the account. We don't sell shares you bought on your own outside the allocation. And you can stop following any Portfolio in the app at any time, or revoke our access from your brokerage's side by following its prompts. If the connection ever breaks, your positions sit at your broker exactly as they were.

3) Why the two balances don't match

The number in the app is the market value of the positions we're managing for you, plus whatever part of your allocation hasn't been invested yet. It does not include anything you hold outside Autopilot. Your brokerage's number includes everything in the account. So the two are measuring different things, and the app's number should never be larger than your brokerage's, margin aside.

Smaller gaps come from ordinary mechanics. When we buy shares for an allocation, a few dollars can be left over because shares come in fixed sizes, and some brokerages don't allow fractional shares at all. Sales take time to settle before the cash is usable again. And if you sold or transferred positions on your own, the app's view and the account's view drift apart until things rebalance. If the app shows a cash position, treat it carefully: it's often a pending allocation, not cash you can spend, especially if you allocated more than you actually had available.

If the gap is large, or the app shows more than the brokerage does, that's the time to write to support. Everything else is normal.

4) Who does what

It's cleaner as a list. Holding your cash and shares: your brokerage. Sending the orders that follow the Portfolio: Autopilot Advisers, under the authority you granted. Filling the orders: your brokerage. The investment strategy: the Pilot publishes it, and the adviser applies it to your allocation. Statements and tax documents: your brokerage. Reports on how your Portfolio is doing: the app, as reports, not statements.

That split is the reason we built it this way. Money that never moves is money that can't get lost in the moving. I wrote the five checks I'd run on any app before connecting a brokerage in Is it safe to connect your brokerage to an investing app? Five checks, and how we answer them, and what happens in the account when a Portfolio changes in How rebalancing works when you follow a Portfolio.

5) Two habits that keep the numbers honest

Allocate only what's actually available as buying power at your broker; allocating more than you have creates a phantom cash line and orders that can't fill. And if you want to take money out of a Portfolio, use the withdraw function in the app rather than selling shares by hand at the brokerage, because a hand sale looks to us like an allocation that needs to be refilled. More on that in Selling by hand while you follow a Portfolio: what Autopilot does next, and the two buttons to use instead.

Frequently asked questions

Does Autopilot hold my money?

No. Your money and your shares stay in your brokerage account, and your brokerage is the custodian that holds them, sends statements, and issues tax documents. Autopilot Advisers, LLC has limited authority to send orders to that account, up to the amount you allocated, and can't withdraw funds or move money out. The app shows reports on the positions it manages; it isn't an account.

Where does my money go when I add it to Autopilot?

Nowhere. Allocating money to a Portfolio only tells Autopilot how much of your brokerage buying power it may use to follow that Portfolio. No bank transfer takes place, no money is exchanged, and your funds stay with your brokerage. Deposits and withdrawals still happen through your brokerage, as they always did.

Why doesn't my Autopilot balance match my brokerage balance?

Because they measure different things. The app shows the market value of the positions it manages plus any allocated buying power not yet invested, and it excludes anything you hold outside Autopilot. Your brokerage shows the whole account. Small gaps come from leftover dollars after buying shares, unsettled sale proceeds, brokerages that don't allow fractional shares, and positions you sold or moved yourself. A large gap, or an app balance above your brokerage balance, is worth a message to support.

Can Autopilot withdraw money from my brokerage account?

No. Autopilot Advisers can send buy and sell orders up to your allocation and cannot withdraw your funds or transfer money out of the account. Withdrawals happen only through your brokerage. You can stop following any Portfolio in the app at any time and revoke Autopilot's access from your brokerage's side.

TLDR

Your money stays at your brokerage; nothing is transferred. Allocating tells us how much buying power we may use, and we can send orders up to that amount and nothing more, never a withdrawal. The app's balance covers only what it manages, so it won't match the brokerage's whole-account number. Allocate only what's available, use the withdraw button instead of selling by hand, and write to support if the app ever shows more than the brokerage does.

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Since Autopilot Advisers is an SEC-registered investment adviser, we have to put disclaimers on stuff like this. They're below, and the full version is on our disclaimer page.

Disclosures

© Autopilot Holdings Corporation 2026 — All rights reserved. “Autopilot” refers to Autopilot Holdings Corporation and its wholly-owned, and separately managed subsidiaries, including Autopilot Advisers, LLC, an SEC-registered investment adviser. All investing is subject to investment risks, including possible loss of the principal invested, and past performance is not indicative of future results. View our Customer Relationship Summary and other important information at joinautopilot.com/disclaimer.

This information is provided by Autopilot for educational and illustrative purposes only and is not a recommendation, an offer to sell or the solicitation to buy any security. Autopilot relies on information from various sources believed to be reliable, including information from Clients, Pilots and other third parties, but cannot guarantee the accuracy or completeness of that information. Autopilot does not provide tax or legal advice and you are encouraged to consult with professionals before making investment decisions.

Autopilot is not affiliated with, sponsored, or endorsed by the companies listed, described, or featured on its site. Company logos or trademarks used do not imply endorsement and are the property of their respective owners.

Investing involves risk, including the possible loss of principal. Past performance does not guarantee future results. You should carefully consider your investment objectives, risk tolerance, and time horizon before investing through Autopilot.

Autopilot Advisers, LLC is an SEC-registered investment adviser. Registration as an investment adviser does not imply a certain level of skill or training. Additional information about Autopilot is available in our Form ADV Part 2A, available at adviserinfo.sec.gov or joinautopilot.com/adv.

Autopilot provides limited investment advisory services focused on Portfolio selection and suitability assessment. Our services are not intended to replace comprehensive financial planning. We recommend consulting with a qualified financial advisor regarding your complete financial situation.

This content is provided for educational and informational purposes only. It does not constitute investment, legal, or tax advice and should not be relied upon as the basis for any investment decision. You should consult with qualified professionals regarding your specific circumstances.

Autopilot does not provide tax, legal, or accounting advice. You should consult with qualified tax and legal professionals regarding your specific circumstances.

Autopilot does not hold client assets. All investments are held at the brokerage firm you select and connect to Autopilot. Your brokerage firm is responsible for trade execution, custody, and reporting. Autopilot is not responsible for your broker-dealer’s services, fees, or execution quality.

Autopilot’s services depend on technology systems, third-party APIs, and internet connectivity. System outages, API disruptions, or connectivity issues may temporarily affect service availability or trade execution timing.

Client account holdings are designed to track the Portfolio you’ve selected, but your actual holdings and performance may differ from the Portfolio due to execution timing, market conditions, brokerage capacity constraints, fractional share availability, and other factors outside Autopilot’s control.

For Portfolios inspired by publicly disclosed trading activity, there may be a delay between when a Pilot executes a trade and when that trade becomes publicly available and is incorporated into the Portfolio. This timing delay may affect the suitability or performance of trades when executed in client accounts.

Descriptions of how allocation, custody, and the app balance work follow Autopilot's public help center and website FAQ as of the publish date. Autopilot does not hold client funds or securities; your brokerage is the custodian. Nothing here is a recommendation or a claim about results.