Transfer Vanguard to Robinhood in 2026
Moving Brokerage Accounts Between Robinhood and Vanguard
If you’re at Vanguard and want to move to Robinhood, or if you’re at Robinhood and want to move to Vanguard, making the change is easier than ever. Thanks to the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service (ACATS), the move is fairly painless. Just use our guide.
Transfer from Vanguard to Robinhood
Both Vanguard and Robinhood participate in the ACATS network, so a brokerage account from one
firm can be sent electronically to the other. Here are the steps:
Task #1: Open a Robinhood Account
If you don’t yet have a securities account at Robinhood, you do need to get one open. And we do mean a securities account. Don’t open a cryptocurrency account. This account type cannot receive ACATS transfers.
Be sure to use the same name on Robinhood’s application that your Vanguard account is titled with. This is an ACATS requirement, and failing to follow it will cause the transfer request to be rejected.
An existing Robinhood account will work for an ACATS transfer as long as it has the same name on it as the Vanguard account.
Robinhood Promotion
Free stock worth up to $200 and 3% match when you open an account.
Task #2: Prep Your Vanguard Account
There are a few investment vehicles available at Vanguard that Robinhood doesn’t offer. These assets cannot be moved into a Robinhood account. They include mutual funds and fixed-income securities.
There are three ways to deal with these financial vehicles. You can simply sell them and convert them to cash (cash can be transferred). Second, you could do a partial transfer and leave them in your Vanguard account. The final method is to move the positions internally to a second Vanguard account and complete the outside transfer with the first Vanguard account. Whichever method you choose, these positions cannot be transferred into Robinhood.
Also, Robinhood will not accept option contracts that expire within 7 days. If you have any of these in your Vanguard account, refer back to the methods mentioned in the previous paragraph.
Fractional shares cannot be transferred into Robinhood. You can either transfer whole shares or sell fractional shares. Alternatively, Vanguard will convert partial shares into cash before sending positions over.
Open orders should be canceled and all trades should settle before moving ahead with a transfer.
If you don’t currently have a second Vanguard account, you can open one and move assets from your existing Vanguard account into your individual account (this could have tax consequences, so be sure to consult with a tax pro before making this move).
Task #3: Prep Your Robinhood Account
With your Vanguard account ready to go, it’s time to take care of a few items inside your Robinhood account.
If you’re going to be sending over option contracts, then obviously you need to add options trading to your Robinhood account. If you didn’t apply for options trading during your initial application, you can add it to an existing account (go into the settings menu on the mobile app and look for the Investing sub-menu). The option level must match or exceed the level required by the position coming from Vanguard.
The same goes for margin. If you’re going to move a margin debit with the transfer, you need to first add margin trading to your Robinhood account.
Task #4: Begin the Transfer
An ACATS request is always initiated with the incoming broker (Robinhood in this case), so that’s where you need to go to complete the request. Robinhood has digital tools for incoming transfers, and you can start the process in the mobile app.
On the app, click the person icon in the bottom-right, then tap the menu and select Transfers. On the Transfers page, be sure to
select “Transfer accounts in.” This is the ACATS form. The other links are for bank
transfers.
On the ACATS form, scroll down and select Vanguard. Supply all requested details and specify full or partial transfer. Remember that a full transfer will close your Vanguard account. Submit the transfer when you’re done.
Robinhood Promotion
Free stock worth up to $200 and 3% match when you open an account.
Task #5: Monitor the Transfer
Robinhood’s mobile app and website will both display the status of a requested transfer, so keep an eye on that.
Transfer from Robinhood to Vanguard
Moving an investment account in the other direction follows a similar, although not identical, process.
Task #1: Open a Vanguard Account
Remember that the name on the account must also match. If either of these conditions isn’t met, you can
always open a second account to get ready for the transfer.
Vanguard’s website has an online transfer process that can also be used while opening the new account. The
transfer request is the same one you would use later, so either method will work.
Task #2: Prep Your Robinhood Account
Robinhood will not move derivatives that expire in less than 7 business days, so if you have any, you need to
close them out. Alternatively, you could move them to a second Robinhood account and do the transfer with the first. A third option is to do a partial transfer and leave the contracts out of the transfer.
A note about cryptocurrencies: they can never be moved through the ACATS system, so refer to the choices we mentioned above for option contracts.
Remember that open orders and unsettled trades should be eliminated in the case of a full transfer. For a partial transfer, you don’t need to worry about these issues.
Task #3: Prep Your Vanguard Account
Options and margin privileges must be added to the Vanguard account if you’re moving over the relevant positions. These features can be added to an existing account (click on Profile & Account Settings in the upper-right corner of the website and then look for options and margin links in the Trading services & agreements section).
Task #4: Begin the Transfer
Vanguard’s website isn’t the easiest to navigate, and the mobile app can’t be used to submit an ACATS
request, so this may take a little work (if you didn’t submit your transfer request during account
opening).
Go to Vanguard’s transfer page and start your transfer online. If you already have a Vanguard login, sign in and begin the transfer there.
On the next page, you can choose to start the transfer and follow the online prompts.
On the next page, you can specify a transfer into your existing account or you can open a new account with the transfer. In either case, you’ll need to specify an individual account coming over from Robinhood. Vanguard’s transfer software can connect to your outside firm, and you can continue to the next step from there.
You can either enter your Robinhood account details manually or enter your Robinhood login credentials. Vanguard’s software will pull your Robinhood information. In either case, you’ll need to specify whether you want a full or partial transfer. For the latter, you’ll also need to specify the positions and share amounts to move.
Task #5: Monitor the Transfer
After submitting your ACATS request, you can monitor its progress on the Vanguard website. Click on Track Your Transfer on the Account Details page.
Cost and Timing
A transfer through the ACATS network often takes about 5 to 7 business days, although some transfers can take much longer depending on the account details and whether paperwork is required. Delays can happen if online forms aren’t filled out correctly or if you try to transfer assets that can’t be moved.
Robinhood charges $100 for an outgoing ACATS transfer (full or partial). Vanguard does not reimburse this fee.
In the other direction, Vanguard Brokerage may charge a $100 processing fee for a full transfer of account assets to another firm.
Written by Alex Bost
Updated on 4/22/2026.
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