Yes, you can transfer Vanguard funds to Fidelity, and in most cases you can move them in kind through ACATS without selling anything or triggering taxes. Two costs to know upfront: Vanguard charges $100 to close or fully transfer an account (waived at $5 million+), and Fidelity charges $100 per online purchase of Vanguard mutual funds once you're there.
Key takeaways
- An in-kind ACATS transfer moves your holdings as-is. Nothing is sold, so nothing is taxed, and your cost basis and purchase dates carry over.
- Vanguard mutual funds, including Admiral Shares, can be held at Fidelity for free. Buying more is where it costs you: $100 per online purchase since August 2024, though reinvested dividends are exempt and recurring investments cost $5.
- Vanguard ETFs (VTI, VOO, VXUS, BND) trade commission-free at Fidelity, which is why many transferers convert eligible index mutual funds to their ETF share class at Vanguard before moving. That conversion is tax-free and only available at Vanguard.
- Vanguard has charged a $100 account closure and full-transfer fee since July 1, 2024, waived if you hold at least $5 million in qualifying Vanguard assets.
- Fidelity charges nothing for incoming transfers, and most online-initiated transfers complete in 3 to 5 business days.
How the transfer actually works
Brokerage-to-brokerage transfers run through ACATS, the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service operated by the National Securities Clearing Corporation. You initiate on the receiving side, not the sending side. Fidelity requests your assets from Vanguard, Vanguard delivers them, and you never touch the money. That last point matters for IRAs: an ACATS move is a trustee-to-trustee transfer, not a rollover, so there's no 60-day deadline, no withholding, and it doesn't count against the one-rollover-per-year IRA rule.
The process, start to finish:
- Open the matching account at Fidelity first. Account types must match: taxable brokerage to taxable brokerage, Roth IRA to Roth IRA, traditional IRA to traditional IRA. Same registration, same name(s).
- Decide what happens to Vanguard mutual funds before you move. If you hold eligible Vanguard index mutual funds (Investor or Admiral Shares) and want the flexibility to keep buying for free, call Vanguard and request a tax-free conversion to the ETF share class first. This is a Vanguard-only feature; Fidelity cannot do it after the fact.
- Start the transfer at Fidelity. Use the Transfer of Assets page, select Vanguard, and log in to your Vanguard account through Fidelity's flow. Online submission takes 5 to 10 minutes. Choose full or partial transfer and, if partial, specify the exact positions and share counts.
- Leave the accounts alone while it processes. Don't trade in the Vanguard account mid-transfer. Pending trades, unsettled cash, or open orders are the most common causes of delay.
- Verify everything landed. Check share counts against your last Vanguard statement. Cost basis usually follows the shares by a few days; confirm it populated correctly at Fidelity before you sell anything.
What transfers in kind and what doesn't
| Holding | Transfers in kind? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Vanguard ETFs (VTI, VOO, etc.) | Yes | Trade commission-free at Fidelity afterward |
| Vanguard mutual funds (Investor/Admiral) | Yes | Free to hold and sell; $100 fee per new online purchase |
| Individual stocks and non-Vanguard ETFs | Yes | Whole shares move; fractional shares are typically liquidated |
| Vanguard money market funds (VMFXX, etc.) | No | Liquidated to cash; at a stable $1 NAV there's no gain to tax |
| Fractional ETF/stock shares | No | Sold, with the small cash balance transferred |
| Cash and settled proceeds | Yes | Moves as cash |
Admiral Shares deserve a specific mention because the internet is full of stale warnings about them. They transfer to Fidelity intact and keep their low expense ratio. What you lose is flexibility: Fidelity cannot convert between Vanguard share classes, and every new online purchase costs $100. If you're in accumulation mode and wedded to a fund like VTSAX, either convert to VTI before transferring or accept the $5-per-purchase workaround through Fidelity's recurring investment feature.
The fees, on both ends
| Cost | Amount | Who charges it |
|---|---|---|
| Full account transfer or closure | $100 per account | Vanguard (since July 1, 2024; waived with $5M+ in qualifying Vanguard assets) |
| Partial transfer of specific securities | $0 | Vanguard confirmed the fee applies only to full transfers |
| Incoming transfer | $0 | Fidelity |
| Holding or selling Vanguard mutual funds | $0 | Fidelity |
| New online purchase of a Vanguard mutual fund | $100 per trade (was $75 until August 2024) | Fidelity |
| Recurring automatic purchase of the same fund | $5 per purchase | Fidelity |
| Dividend reinvestment into Vanguard funds | $0 | Fidelity |
| Trading Vanguard ETFs online | $0 | Fidelity (Vanguard ETFs are not on Fidelity's 2026 ETF service-fee list, which targets niche issuers) |
Two practical notes. First, if your Vanguard balance is north of $5 million in qualifying assets, the exit fee is waived, which covers a decent share of fatFIRE readers. Second, Fidelity doesn't advertise transfer-fee reimbursement, but it routinely covers the $100 for sizable incoming accounts when asked. Call before you initiate; the worst answer is no. For the full picture of what Vanguard charges across account types, see our breakdown of Vanguard's fees.
Tax implications
An in-kind transfer is not a sale, so it is not a taxable event. Your unrealized gains stay unrealized, your cost basis and acquisition dates move with the shares, and your tax lots remain intact for future tax-loss harvesting or specific-lot sales.
The tax risk comes from doing it the wrong way: liquidating at Vanguard and transferring cash. In a taxable account, that realizes every embedded gain at once, which for a long-held index fund position can mean a five- or six-figure tax bill for nothing. If you want cash out of Vanguard rather than a brokerage change, that's a different move entirely; see how Vanguard withdrawals work.
For IRAs, a direct ACATS transfer generates no 1099-R headaches and no withholding. Employer plans like a Vanguard-administered 401(k) are a separate process (a rollover, not an ACATS transfer) with their own paperwork through the plan administrator.
Timeline and full vs. partial
Fidelity quotes 3 to 5 business days for most transfers initiated online, and roughly 5 to 7 is a realistic expectation for accounts holding mutual funds, which settle more slowly than stocks. Transfers requiring mailed or signature-guaranteed paperwork can stretch to 2 to 4 weeks. Your money stays invested throughout; you're moving positions, not sitting in cash.
A partial transfer is worth considering for two reasons. It sidesteps Vanguard's $100 fee, which applies only to full transfers and closures, and it lets you leave behind anything that's awkward to move, like a money market position or a fund mid-conversion. Plenty of investors keep a shell account at Vanguard for exactly this reason. There's no requirement to consolidate everything on day one, and running both platforms for a quarter before committing is a perfectly reasonable way to decide whether Fidelity's interface and service actually suit you better than Vanguard's.
Frequently asked questions
Will transferring Vanguard funds to Fidelity trigger taxes?
No, an in-kind ACATS transfer moves your holdings as-is, so nothing is sold and nothing is taxed. Your cost basis and acquisition dates carry over, and your tax lots remain intact. The tax risk comes from doing it the wrong way, liquidating at Vanguard and transferring cash, which realizes every embedded gain at once.
What does it cost to move a Vanguard account to Fidelity?
Vanguard charges $100 to close or fully transfer an account, waived if you hold at least $5 million in qualifying Vanguard assets. Fidelity charges nothing for incoming transfers. A partial transfer avoids Vanguard's fee entirely, since that fee applies only to full transfers and closures.
Can I keep buying Vanguard mutual funds after moving to Fidelity?
Yes, but new online purchases of Vanguard mutual funds cost $100 per trade at Fidelity since August 2024. Holding and selling them is free, and reinvested dividends are exempt, while recurring automatic purchases cost $5. Many transferers convert eligible Vanguard index mutual funds to their ETF share class at Vanguard first, since Vanguard ETFs trade commission-free at Fidelity.
Why should I convert Vanguard mutual funds to ETFs before transferring?
Convert because Vanguard ETFs like VTI and VOO trade commission-free at Fidelity, while new online purchases of Vanguard mutual funds cost $100 each. The share-class conversion is tax-free and only available at Vanguard; Fidelity cannot do it after the fact. If you are still in accumulation mode with a fund like VTSAX, convert before you move.
Do I start a Vanguard-to-Fidelity transfer on the Vanguard side?
No, you initiate on the receiving side at Fidelity, not at Vanguard. Fidelity requests your assets from Vanguard through ACATS, Vanguard delivers them, and you never touch the money. Open the matching account type at Fidelity first, then use its Transfer of Assets page. Most online transfers complete in 3 to 5 business days.