How Do I Close My Account with Vanguard?

If you have an investing account with Vanguard but want to take your investing business elsewhere, you need to close your Vanguard account. While that's pretty easy to do, there are some other things you need to do first. Read this article to learn what to do to close your Vanguard account.

Link Your Vanguard Account to Your Bank Account

Before you can close out your account, you need to withdraw the money you have in it to an outside bank account. To withdraw your money, you first need link your bank account to your Vanguard account, so Vanguard can authenticate that the account is yours. To link accounts, follow these instructions:

1. Go to Vanguard's website.
2. Log in.
3. Find the My Account menu near the top of the page and expand it.
4. Choose Profile and Account Settings.
5. Click Banking and Money Movement.
6. Click Bank Information.
7. Click Add a New Bank Account.
8. Enter your full name in the text fields at the top of the forum.
9. Put your bank account and routing numbers in the text fields at the bottom of the form.
10. Click Review.
11. Check that the information is all accurate.
12. Click Continue to E-Sign.
13. Answer the security question.
14. Click Sign & Submit.

Once you have put in this application to link accounts, Vanguard will review all the information. This process should take seven to 10 days to complete.

Withdraw Your Money via Electronic Bank Transfer

An electronic bank transfer is a quick and easy way to withdraw your money. Just follow these instructions:

1. Log into your Vanguard account.
2. Go to the Sell Funds page.
3. Expand the "Where is your money going?" menu.
4. Click on your bank account.
5. Click on Electronic Bank Transfer.
6. Enter the full amount you have in your bank account.
7. Follow any further instructions you are given.
8. Submit the transfer request.

Withdraw Your Money via Wire Transfer

You can also get your money via wire transfer. To withdraw your money with a wire transfer, follow the procedure above for an electronic bank transfer. Just replace Step 4 with "Click on Wire Transfer."

There is a $10 fee for sending a wire transfer from a Vanguard account. You don't have to pay the fee if your Vanguard account has $1 million or more.

Withdrawing Your Money to an Unlinked Bank Account

If you haven't linked a bank account to your Vanguard account, you will have difficulty withdrawing your money. And it may seem like a waste of time to go through more than a week of waiting for your accounts to link just to use it once. Vanguard may be willing to help you make a transfer without linking the accounts. Call a Vanguard customer service agent anytime between 8:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. Eastern time on a weekday and ask for help.

Contacting Vanguard

Once you have withdrawn your money, it is time to close your account. Call a Vanguard customer service agent and tell them you want to close it.