Source ofFunds
Source of Funds (SoF)
Where exactly the money for this specific investment comes from: which account, the sale of what, which dividends. Not to be confused with SoW (overall wealth). The bank wants to see statements and documents.
- What it is
- Where exactly the money for this specific investment or payment comes from
- Where it applies
- Investing in citizenship or residence, a large payment, opening an account
- How it differs from SoW
- SoF concerns the specific sum, SoW all your wealth as a whole
- What is required
- A direct documentary chain: from which account and from the sale of what
- Can you prepare
- Yes: document the payment chain in advance
In plain words
Source of funds (SoF) is the answer to a narrow question: where exactly the money for this specific investment or payment comes from. Put simply, the question here is narrow — “which account did this $200,000 come from, and from the sale of what” — while overall wealth is examined under source of wealth.
The bank and the reviewer want to see a direct chain down to the last step: which account the payment leaves from, how the money reached that account, from which dividends, from the sale of which asset. SoF is supported with bank statements, contracts and payment orders — everything that shows the movement of the money right up to the moment of investment.
SoF always goes together with source of wealth. SoW explains all your wealth; SoF the specific sum on the table. A common weak point: the wealth as a whole is explainable, but the specific money arrived in transit through a third account without documents — and the chain breaks.
Where source of funds applies
What a source-of-funds file covers
- Which account the payment comes from
- How the money reached the account
- Date and amount of the receipt
- Sale of an asset or a stake
- Dividends
- Salary or bonus
- Bank statements
- Contracts
- Payment orders
- Consistency with SoW
- No transit through other people’s accounts
- Taxes paid
How source of funds is evidenced
- 01Identify the source of the sum
- 02Gather documents along the chain
- 03Show the movement to the account
- 04Check by the bank/programme
- 05The payment goes through
What you need to know
- SoF concerns the specific sum, SoW all your wealth as a whole; both are checked
- A direct documentary chain up to the moment of investment is needed
- Money “out of nowhere”, in cash or from someone else’s account is a weak point
- Transit through a third account without documents breaks the chain
- Without SoF evidence the payment is held or blocked
Common mistakes
- Bringing in the sum in cash or from someone else’s account just before the payment
- Routing money in transit through a third account without documents
- Paying from a relative’s account without explaining the gift
- Not keeping the contract and statement for the source transaction
- Presenting SoF in isolation from the logic of your wealth as a whole (SoW)
What this means for a BRIDGES client
BRIDGES GLOBAL builds your SoF chain for the specific investment: we show which account to make the payment from and with which documents, so that every step is evidenced and the money reaches the programme without being frozen.
Frequently asked questions
01 /Can money be transferred from a relative’s account?
It immediately complicates SoF: the bank will have to be given an explanation of both your relative as a source and the gift. It is simpler and cleaner to pay from your own account, where you can evidence the origin of the money.
02 /Are statements needed if the sum is small?
Yes, the source of funds is evidenced for any investment in a programme. The volume of documents depends on the sum and the risk profile, but statements for the payment will almost always be requested.
03 /How does source of funds differ from source of wealth?
SoF is the origin of the specific sum going into the investment. SoW is the origin of all your wealth over the years. The reviewer looks at both and wants to see that they are logically connected.
04 /Is cash acceptable?
Cash without a documentary trail is a weak source: its origin is hard to evidence. It is better for the money to arrive in the account through a traceable transaction with a contract and a statement.
05 /What if the money passed through several accounts?
Every step must be explained with documents. If there was transit without papers at some point, we prepare an explanation and restore the missing statements — otherwise the chain breaks.
06 /How quickly can SoF be assembled?
If the source transaction is recent and the documents are to hand, quickly. It is harder when the money is old or has passed through many accounts: then we allow time to restore the documents.
See also
Read next
This material has undergone editorial review by BRIDGES.
Make the payment without it being frozen?
We will document your source-of-funds chain so that every step is evidenced and the money reaches the programme.