Online investing is SUCH a sloooowwww process - Vanguard rant

[riverwed070707]

Something like 8 years ago I opened a vanguard account and placed a small ($1,100) inheritance I got into a target date retirement mutual fund. I've not touched it or really even looked at it since. Couple weeks ago I logged in and was pleasantly surprised to see the money has doubled and I decided to dabble in more active investing with it. First thing I had to do was sell the mutual fund. Took 2 days to process. Then realized I couldn't invest it because it needed to be converted to a separate brokerage account. Can't do that because my ex is on the account still and it required signatures. Next step was to remove him from the account. That took 2 days. Next step convert to brokerage account. That took 3 days. Then I see that the money transferred over but it did so still in the mutual fund even though I thought I'd sold the shares before I converted it. So I try to sell the shares again and now its been pending since Friday - look at the progress tab and it says there's a hold on the funds until March 6 to prevent frequent selling. WHAT? Connect a bank account so I can add more funds - takes another 2 days. Transfer money - it will start tomorrow and be deposited on Wednesday. I find their interface to be terribly daunting and all these waiting periods are driving me batty. Most annoyed about the 30 day hold on my funds. Is Vanguard just inherently slow or is this the norm for investment accounts?

[bjl584]

I run into the "3 business days to settle funds" rule from time to time, and I've had issues adding accounts, but your situation sounded rather complex and unique.

[~bs]

I think it's just you.

old account
not updated info
inactive use


all the delays set in place to prevent potential fraud and other issues.

[riverwed070707]

I think it's just you.

old account
not updated info
inactive use


all the delays set in place to prevent potential fraud and other issues.

haha fair enough. I'll continue to be patient then and hopefully not continue to get such a run around next time

[Jluke]

VG is slow. Their website is not the best and the bogleheads say the same thing.

You also had a dormant account and VG wanted everyone to switch to the brokerage account. So that was an added step and delay.

Always try to do one thing at a time and don’t try to rush their systems. Make sure one transaction completes before initiating the next one.

YMMV

[kork13]

Just to comment on the 30 day restriction, it's only restricted from selling a particular fund, then buy-in back into the same fund within 30 days. As stated, it's a Vanguard policy to prevent high-frequency trading, which drives up expenses & reduces tax efficiency. However, you can sell from one fund & buy a totally separate fund anytime (after settlement).