Overview
A Stencil is a template of placeholder tiles representing assets, insurances, liabilities, and incomes. Applying a stencil to a household cuts the time it takes for making maps. It allows you to show your clients what their peer group could potentially have, or it can be used as a handout for clients to overwrite the tiles with their own financial information.
Stencils in Asset-Map serve as templates or blueprints for different household types or financial scenarios. Customizing a stencil is a best practice! Learn more here.
Apply and Clear a Stencil
Right-click (command-click) on the Asset-Map (also available on the Actions Menu on the left-side navigation menu, colored cross, while on the Asset-Map)
Select Stencils
Select Apply Stencil
Select Public Library (or My Stencils)
Scroll through the dropdown list and click on the desired Stencil
Click Apply
To clear a stencil, right-click (command-click) on the Asset-Map, select Stencils, and then Clear Stencil.
"Public Library" and "My Stencils Library"
Asset-Map Platform hosts a library of stencils that you may use. Your broker-dealer may restrict the types of stencils available, and you can create your own custom stencils, which will be stored in your household index and displayed in the My Stencils library.
We encourage you to use the Public Library stencils as a starting point to make your own and store them in your My Stencils library (hosted in your Household Index).
Note: The Building Blocks stencil applies to one member, not a couple (primary and spouse). The others will apply to a couple with the roles of primary and spouse automatically. The Building Blocks stencil is very functional. Please refer to this article for detailed information:
Preview Before Applying
You can preview the stencil by clicking the image icon to the left of the desired stencil before applying.
Copy Public Stencil to My Stencils for Customizing
You can make a public stencil your own by adding it to your personal library (My Stencils tab). Though this isn't necessary, it's good to customize the specific stencil for your use. Click the "+" to the right of the desired stencil to copy the public stencil into your library.
How to Apply Part of a Stencil to One Member
You can apply part of a stencil to a member of a household.
Choose a specific stencil to work with.
Take a look at the preview of the stencil to see the tiles that belong to the Primary or other member on the map.
Click "No" when asked to Apply stencil to entire household?
From the left drop-down menu, select a specific member of the stencil whose financials will be applied.
From the right drop-down menu, select the household member you wish to apply the Stencil financials to.
Click Apply Stencil.
The one member's stencil tiles will apply to the one household member.
Make Custom Stencils or Edit Default Stencils
Please refer to this resource to learn about custom stencils:
How to Make, Edit, Apply and Delete a Custom Stencil™
How to Clear Stencil Tiles (all at once or individually)
Click the Clear Stencil option on the Actions menu to remove all stencil tiles on a household at once. Caution! This might include topics provided by the Discovery Interview. We suggest saving those first before clearing.
Select individual tiles for deletion by clicking the undesired tile to open its edit window. Click the trashcan icon to remove the tile.
Alternatively, use the Search and Select tool in the upper right area to remove multiple stencil tiles that you choose. Here's how to use Search and Select.
Tips to Know About a Stencil
Target-Maps™ and Comprehensive Reports are not available for households set as Type: Stencil.
Clear all stencil placeholders with a click of a mouse using the "Clear Stencil" option on the toggle menu.
Stencil financials with a value will be displayed and calculated on Target-Maps and the Financials page.
Stencils provided by Asset-Map cannot be edited nor deleted. They can be copied to your My Stencil library for modification.
Stencil placeholder financials are applied to the corresponding Member "Relationship".
For example:
The "Primary" Member in Stencil is applied to the Primary Member in Household.
The "Spouse" Member in Stencil is applied to the Spouse Member in Household. The "Dependent" Member in Stencil is applied to the Dependent Member in Household, etc.Ensure that gray stencil tiles are updated to appear as finalized tiles with a colored border if they are to be included in Financials reports. This conversion can be done by clicking and updating each tile individually.
Top Questions Advisors Ask
Q. Why are only my primary stencil member's stencil tiles applying when I have a spouse (or other relationship type) on my stencil as well?
A. There is a one-to-one relationship of relationship types between the client household members and stencil members. Ensure the household members are the same as the stencil's members. For example:
Primary (stencil) ➡️ Primary (client);
Spouse (stencil) ➡️ Spouse (client).
Q. Why can't I print Target-Maps or Reports? A. Stencil Households deactivate the Target-Maps and Reports pages because no calculations are made, nor are Reports produced from a stencil. Once applied to a Client, Prospective, or Sample household, printing and Target-Maps become available. Additionally, ensure that gray stencil tiles are finalized by updating them manually. Without this step, these tiles will not appear in Financials reports or be printable.
Q. What's the difference between a stencil and any other type of household?
A. Stencils are made available as an overlay for the other types of households using the Apply Stencil window. The other difference is that, when applied, tiles appear as gray placeholders until saved.
Q. I don't see some of the stencils here. How do I get them?
A. Your Broker Dealer might have limited the stencil selection. However, you have the ability to create your own by clicking the Add Household icon ("+"). (See above) Also, you may be looking at the wrong tab. Check out the Public Stencils for our platform stencils instead of the My Stencils tab.
Q. Stencil won't apply or doesn't appear?
Make sure that no financials are "linked" to others, make sure that all end ages are under 100 years old, and make sure that the stencil member or client age is not zero. That usually does the trick. If not, please let us know.
11/2025