Betterment and Vanguard are two highly popular investment platforms available today, though the two take different approaches to investing.
Vanguard has a long and proven track record since launching in 1975! Betterment, on the other hand, was founded in 2008 and provides their clients with a robo advisor experience.
Whatever your reason for wanting to switch, we have you covered. In this article, we highlight the process to transfer from Betterment to Vanguard.
Moving your assets to a new platform is actually a pretty simple process when the two brokerage accounts support ACATS (automated customer account transfer service).
In the case with Betterment and Vanguard, ACATS is supported. ACATS is certainly the preferred method for transferring your assets as you do not need to liquidate your positions. Instead, you simply transfer (either in full or partially) your account to a new brokerage.
To transfer from Betterment to Vanguard, follow these three simple steps:
Below we cover each of these steps in closer detail.
If you already have a Vanguard account, then you can move on to the next step.
Vanguard is a top brokerage for many investors due to its offering on low cost ETF and mutual funds. Additionally, the company provides its clients with top notch customer service.
Before you start the transfer process, be sure you are eligible to open an account. To create an account, you will need to have the following:
To open an account, follow these steps:
Once you have completed the account application, you will be able to start investing in 3 business days.
You will initiate the transfer within the Vanguard platform, but do so, you will need to prepare yourself with a few pieces of information:
The account type and account number can be found with the following steps:
Once you have collected your information from Betterment, you are ready to initiate the transfer.
While many platforms charge an outgoing ACATS transfer fee, Betterment does not. Vanguard also does not charge for incoming transfers.
Despite having a highly popular app, Vanguard requires members to follow their web-based prompt to initiate a transfer. The transfer steps can be completed in as little as 10 minutes online, though the funds may take up to 4-6 weeks to appear in your Vanguard account.
Before you start the transfer, you should also know about the assets that you can and cannot transfer to Vanguard.
Investments you can transfer:
Investments you can't transfer:
Any investments that you have that cannot be transferred must be liquidated first. And one last note, you can only transfer whole shares from Betterment. Any fractional shares you own will be liquidated shortly after the transfer.
To initiate this ACATS transfer, follow the steps below:
Be aware that this transfer can take up to 4-6 weeks to complete, though typically is completed much sooner.
Luckily, a transfer from Betterment to Vanguard is actually quite simple.
All you need to complete this transfer is your account number, login information, and account type for Betterment. From there, you will simply follow Vanguard's prompts.
The transfer will be kicked off with just a few minutes on their site. Once complete, you can track the progress in your Vanguard account.
If you have additional questions, be sure to reach out to Vanguard's customer support team.