The Quick Read: Usually only part of it counts, and the share depends on the path. On the asset depletion path, securities in a brokerage account count at 80% of the balance, and the total is divided by 60 months to produce qualifying income. On the asset qualifier path, brokerage accounts count at 100% against the loan, subject to underwriting. Lendmire arranges both through select programs in its wholesale network.
- Asset depletion path: securities count at 80%, cash and CDs at 100%, and usable assets are divided by 60 months.
- Asset qualifier path: brokerage, CDs, money market and savings all count at 100%, and no income is documented.
- Same dollars, one job: money used for the down payment or closing costs generally cannot also count toward income.
- Documented, not undocumented: both paths require statements for every account counted.
Which Path Does a Brokerage Account Fit?
The first question is whether your assets cover the loan outright or whether they have to become income. The two paths use different percentages, so mixing them is a common error in online estimates.
On the asset qualifier path, eligible assets, after the credit percentages, must equal or exceed the entire loan amount. No employment or income is documented. Leverage runs up to 80% on a purchase and 75% on a refinance of a principal residence or second home, and loans go to $4,000,000, all subject to underwriting.
On the asset depletion path, eligible assets are reduced by haircuts and divided by 60 months. The result is a monthly qualifying income that must carry the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test. Loans run from $125,000 to $3,500,000.
A borrower is qualified on one path at a time. Across the wholesale network, the qualifier path fits someone whose balances clearly exceed the loan. The depletion path fits someone who holds a large portfolio but wants the loan sized to the income it can support.
This program is a consumer mortgage for a principal residence or second home. Investment property is available only on the depletion path. Business-purpose rental financing is a different product, covered in Lendmire’s complete DSCR loans guide.
Why Doesn’t a Brokerage Balance Count Dollar for Dollar?
A brokerage balance moves with the market, and a lender is underwriting a number that has to hold through closing. A discount is the cushion for that movement. This is called a haircut.
Cash does not need a cushion, so cash accounts and CDs count at 100% on the depletion path. Securities carry a haircut and count at 80%. Private stock counts at 75%, retirement accounts at 70% at any age, and real-estate equity at 60%.
Lender types treat this differently. A mortgage-insurer training deck summarizing the Fannie Mae Selling Guide says agency underwriting counts stocks, bonds and mutual funds at 70% when treating them as employment-related assets, after transaction costs and any penalty. That is the agency’s rule for agency loans. The depletion path through Lendmire’s network counts securities at 80%, subject to underwriting.
Treat any single percentage you see online as program-specific. Across the programs the network places files with, the brokerage haircut varies by lender, and some treat the whole balance more generously than others.
The Order of Operations
The order matters more than any single percentage. Here is the sequence on the depletion path.
1. List the accounts. Gather statements for every brokerage, bank and retirement account you plan to use.
2. Sort each holding by type. Securities, cash, CDs and retirement balances each carry their own percentage.
3. Apply the haircut. Securities at 80%, cash and CDs at 100%, and so on down the list.
4. Set aside the deal’s cash needs. Funds committed to the down payment and closing costs generally come out of the pool first, so the same dollar is not counted twice.
5. Divide by 60 months. The usable total divided by 60 gives the monthly qualifying income.
6. Run the debt-to-income test. That income must carry the housing payment and other monthly debts.
On the qualifier path, steps 5 and 6 drop away. You compare usable assets to the loan amount instead.
What Does a Worked Example Look Like?
Both examples below are illustrative. The lender’s own calculation governs, and every figure is subject to underwriting.
Depletion path. A borrower holds $1,500,000 in securities and $300,000 in cash. The securities count at 80%, or $1,200,000. The cash counts at 100%, or $300,000. That makes $1,500,000 of usable assets. Divided by 60 months, that is $25,000 of monthly qualifying income. That income then carries the housing payment and other debts through the debt-to-income test.
Qualifier path. A borrower seeks an $800,000 loan. They hold $330,000 in brokerage accounts (100% counts, or $330,000), $300,000 in a 401(k) under age 59½ (90% counts, or $270,000) and $200,000 in savings (100%, or $200,000). That totals $800,000 of usable assets, which equals the loan, so the borrower is reviewed on assets alone, subject to underwriting.
The same $1,000,000 balance gives different results by path and by contents.
| Scenario | Share counted | Usable assets | Monthly qualifying income |
|---|---|---|---|
| Securities, depletion path | 80% | $800,000 | about $13,300 |
| Cash in a regulated account, depletion path | 100% | $1,000,000 | about $16,700 |
| Brokerage, qualifier path | 100% | $1,000,000 | none documented |
The first two rows show the cost of the haircut. The third row shows that the qualifier path is a loan-size test, not an income test.
Brokerage vs. Cash vs. Retirement
A brokerage account sits in the middle on the depletion path and at the top on the qualifier path. This table shows how each account type is treated.
| Account type | Depletion path | Qualifier path |
|---|---|---|
| Brokerage (securities) | 80% | 100% |
| Cash, savings, money market | 100% | 100% |
| Certificates of deposit | 100% | 100% |
| Retirement accounts | 70% at any age | 90% under 59½, 100% at 59½ or older |
| Real-estate equity | 60% | not listed |
On the depletion path, real-estate equity is the lowest tier at 60%, with retirement accounts next at 70% regardless of age. Age matters only on the qualifier path.
What Inside a Brokerage Account Counts?
A brokerage statement is rarely one asset. The lender reviews it holding by holding.
| Holding | Typical treatment on the depletion path |
|---|---|
| Publicly traded stocks, ETFs, mutual funds | Counts as securities at 80% |
| Cash or sweep balance in the account | May count as cash at 100%, subject to review |
| Privately held stock | Counts at 75% |
| Stock options, non-vested restricted stock units | Not eligible |
| Cryptocurrency, precious metals, collectibles | Not published as eligible |
| Pledged or borrowed funds | Not published as eligible |
Cryptocurrency and the other classes in the bottom rows do not count at any percentage. The documented route is to convert them to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account. The lender then reviews the source of that cash.
Custodial accounts, deferred compensation, escrow accounts, foreign funds and cash on hand are also not eligible on the depletion path. Margin balances raise a separate question that depends on the lender’s review of pledged securities.
Same Dollars, One Job
Each dollar can do only one job. If $400,000 of a brokerage balance goes toward the down payment, it cannot also be counted as income-producing assets.
Cash-out proceeds never count as qualifying assets either. A borrower cannot refinance, then count the proceeds toward qualifying for that same loan.
This is why the choice of which account pays the down payment can change the result. Paying from a bank account may preserve securities for the pool. Paying from securities may preserve cash. Run both versions before you sell anything.
You also do not have to liquidate the account to use it for qualifying. The assets are documented, not spent down. If you do sell positions to fund a purchase, tax treatment varies; consult a qualified professional.
Seasoning, Statements and Documentation
Both paths document the assets. Only the income documentation drops away on the qualifier path.
- Qualifier path: 60 days of seasoning and two months of statements for each qualifying account.
- Depletion path: statements at least 120 days old at application, plus the most recent statement within 45 days. Funds from the sale of a business, an inheritance or a legal settlement are excused from that seasoning.
Verification is not a lender whim. Federal ability-to-repay rules, in CFPB Regulation Z, require a lender to verify any income or assets it relies on using reasonably reliable third-party records. Statements are the normal evidence.
Recent deposits and transfers are where files stall. A large transfer into the brokerage account right before application raises source questions. Keep a paper trail for any funds that moved.
What Else Changes the Number?
Several program conditions affect how much of the brokerage account helps.
- Minimum assets. The depletion path generally requires qualified assets of at least the lesser of $1,000,000 or 1.25 times the loan balance. The floor is never below $250,000 liquid when assets are the only income source.
- Supplementing documented income. Asset-derived income may supplement documented income up to a 45% debt-to-income ratio. When it supplements, the minimum-assets rule is waived.
- Leverage. On the depletion path, a principal residence or second home allows up to 80% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out refinance. An investment property allows up to 65% on a purchase or rate-and-term refinance and 60% on a cash-out.
- Credit. The qualifier path publishes a 600 minimum score. The depletion path follows the lender’s matrix. A first-time investor on the depletion path needs 700. Housing history is 0x30x12, and a housing event needs 4 years of seasoning on the depletion path.
On the qualifier path, no reserves are required at or below 75% loan-to-value. Above that, the lender sets them. The depletion path has no published reserve months.
These are ceilings and floors, not offers. Each file is underwritten individually.
Is This the Same as a DSCR Loan?
No. A DSCR loan is a business-purpose investor loan that qualifies primarily on property-level rental income covering the payment, subject to lender guidelines. Asset depletion qualifies the borrower on assets instead.
Investors often confuse them because both avoid a traditional pay-stub review. Asset depletion is a consumer mortgage and is used mostly for a home. DSCR is for non-owner-occupied rentals.
If your rental purchase falls short on coverage, a strong portfolio does not turn the rent into a better ratio. The choice is between a rental-income loan and a personal-qualification loan. The depletion path does allow investment property at lower leverage, but it is a different program from DSCR.
Key Terms Defined
Haircut: the discount applied to an asset’s balance before it counts toward qualifying.
Divisor: the number of months a usable asset pool is spread across to create monthly income. On the depletion path it is 60.
Usable assets: the balance left after the haircut percentages and any funds set aside for the deal.
Seasoning: how long funds must have been in an account before they count.
Debt-to-income (DTI): monthly debts divided by monthly income. Depletion-path income runs through this test.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I have to sell my stocks to use a brokerage account?
No. The assets stay in the account. The lender documents the balance and applies the haircut. Selling is only necessary if you choose to fund the down payment from those positions.
What happens if the market drops before closing?
The haircut is the cushion built for that risk, but a large drop can still reduce the usable total. The lender relies on the statement values, so an updated statement showing a lower balance can change the result. Keep a margin above the minimum.
Do ETFs and mutual funds count the same as stocks?
Publicly traded securities count as securities at 80% on the depletion path. The lender reviews the statement holding by holding. Cash inside the account may be treated as cash.
Can the same brokerage account pay the down payment and count as income?
Not for the same dollars. Money used for the down payment or closing costs generally leaves the pool. Only what remains counts toward the divisor or the loan-size test.
Does cryptocurrency in my brokerage account count?
It is not published as eligible on either path. The documented route is converting it to a seasoned cash balance in a regulated account, with the source reviewed by the lender.
Next Step
If you are qualifying on assets rather than income and want to see how the numbers work, Lendmire can help you compare asset-based mortgage options based on your statements, the property, credit profile, leverage, and your goals. Programs are placed through select lenders in Lendmire’s network and are not a commitment to lend.
Most borrowers with a large brokerage balance find the real decision is not the haircut but which dollars they are willing to keep in the account.
About Lendmire
As a mortgage broker (NMLS# 2371349), Lendmire helps self-employed and high-net-worth borrowers in 16 states qualify on bank statements, a profit-and-loss statement, 1099s or liquid assets instead of traditional personal-income documentation, through wholesale lenders. Lendmire is never the lender; program terms are set by the lender and its guidelines. Scotsman Guide named Lendmire a Top Mortgage Workplace in both 2025 and 2026.
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References
1. Enact Mortgage Insurance, Assets as Repayment training deck
2. CFPB, Regulation Z § 1026.43
This article is part of Lendmire’s asset-based mortgage program — full qualification details, guidelines, and scenarios live on the program page.
Related reading: Asset Depletion vs Trust Income Documentation for a Beneficiary · What Counts as an Asset Statement for a Mortgage? · How Much of Vested RSUs Counts Toward Asset Depletion Income?
Brandon Miller
Founder & CEO, Mortgage Loan Originator, Lendmire LLC
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- Lendmire LLC · Firm NMLS# 2371349 · Verify firm licensure
Legal disclosures. Lendmire (NMLS# 2371349) is a state-licensed mortgage brokerage that arranges financing through wholesale lender relationships. Lendmire is not a direct lender, depository institution, or registered financial advisor. The discussion above is general informational content about real estate financing — it is not financial, legal, or tax advice, and readers should consult licensed professionals for guidance on their individual circumstances. Loan inquiries are subject to lender underwriting; this article does not represent a commitment to lend. Loan terms, rates, and qualification standards vary by borrower, property, and state, and are subject to change at any time. Equal Housing Opportunity. NMLS Consumer Access: nmlsconsumeraccess.org.