What happens to my investments if Vanguard becomes insolvent? (2024)

FAQs

What happens to my investments if Vanguard becomes insolvent? ›

What happens to my investments if Vanguard becomes insolvent? In the unlikely event that we become insolvent, your money and investments would be returned to you as quickly as possible, or transferred to another provider. This is because your money and investments are held separately from our own.

Rest easy knowing the cash in your Vanguard Cash Plus bank sweep is eligible for FDIC coverage up to $1.25 million for individual accounts and $2.5 million for joint accounts. You can keep all your money in the bank sweep or diversify into 5 available Vanguard money market funds (each with a $3,000 minimum investment).

Money market funds and other securities held in the Vanguard Brokerage Account are eligible for SIPC coverage. Securities in your brokerage account are protected up to $500,000. To learn more, visit the SIPC's website. Up to $250,000 per depositor, per bank by FDIC insurance.

If a brokerage fails, another financial firm may agree to buy the firm's assets and accounts will be transferred to the new custodian with little interruption. The government also provides insurance, known as SIPC coverage, on up to $500,000 of securities or $250,000 of cash held at a brokerage firm.

First, the chances of Vanguard failing are miniscule. That said, let's talk about brokerage accounts for a minute. Brokerage accounts are not backed by the FDIC but by the Securities Investor Protection Corp (SIPC), which protects accounts up to $500,000.

When the market cratered, investors withdrew $16.4 billion from Vanguard's index mutual funds. What accounts for remaining index mutual fund outflows? Johnson says it could be clients pulling out money because they're retiring, or because they're negatively affected by the pandemic.

About Vanguard

Vanguard's mission is to "take a stand for all investors, to treat them fairly, and to give them the best chance for investment success."6 It prides itself on its stability, transparency, low costs, and risk management.

The securities that underlie the funds are held by a custodian, not by Vanguard. Vanguard is paid by the funds to provide administration and other services. If Vanguard ever did go bankrupt, the funds would not be affected and would simply hire another firm to provide these services.

Vanguard announced that its Board of Directors has appointed Salim Ramji, a longtime financial services executive, as the Company's new Chief Executive Officer and a member of the Board, effective July 8, 2024. Mr. Ramji succeeds Tim Buckley, who, as previously announced, will retire and step down as Chairman and CEO.

Typically, when a brokerage firm fails, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) arranges the transfer of the failed brokerage's accounts to a different securities brokerage firm. If the SIPC is unable to arrange the accounts' transfer, the failed firm is liquidated.

Is it safe to keep more than $500,000 in a brokerage account? ›

They must also have a certain amount of liquidity on hand, thus allowing them to cover funds in these cases. What this means is that even if you have more than $500,000 in one brokerage account, chances are high that you won't lose any of your money even if the broker is forced into liquidation.

Security at both Charles Schwab and Vanguard is up to industry standards. You can log into any app using biometric (face or fingerprint) recognition, and both brokers protect against account losses due to unauthorized or fraudulent activity.

Compare Costs

Overall, you might save money at Fidelity if you trade options, but Vanguard will be cheaper if mutual funds are your focus. The key difference is that Fidelity is low-cost for a wide range of investor types, while Vanguard is a great low-cost solution aimed primarily at buy-and-hold investors.

Each fund also owns the individual securities (stocks and bonds, for example) that make up the fund, and there's no way for a fund to go bankrupt unless every security simultaneously loses all value (an event that would reach far beyond Vanguard if it were to occur).

Securities in your brokerage account are held in custody by Vanguard Brokerage, a division of Vanguard Marketing Corporation (VMC). VMC is a member of SIPC, which protects securities customers of its members up to $500,000 (including $250,000 for claims for cash).

User reports indicate no current problems at Vanguard.

In the unlikely event that we become insolvent, your money and investments would be returned to you as quickly as possible, or transferred to another provider. This is because your money and investments are held separately from our own.

We use a broad range of physical and electronic controls. All account information passing between your computer and our systems is securely encrypted.

On the Plan Options page (link below), select "Withdraw cash" to receive all your money in one payment or "Set up retirement plan paychecks" to receive it in parts over time.

You should consider keeping some money in your settlement fund so you're ready to trade. You can use your settlement fund to buy mutual funds and ETFs (exchange-traded funds) from Vanguard and other companies, as well as stocks, CDs (certificates of deposit), and bonds.