How to Cancel Vanguard Mutual Fund Buy Order

[CupCake]

Hi there!!!

I've been lurking around this board for a while now and I've finally decided to join.

I've just started getting serious about my IRA and I've been investing in mutual funds with Vanguard.

I have a question that I can't seem to find the answer to. I'm trying to find out how to cancel a mutual fund buy order on the Vanguard website. I know that the price of the mutual fund is calculated at the end of each trading day at the closing bell, and I've heard of people placing a mutual fund buy order early in the day, and then canceling the order before the closing bell at 4:00 pm if they don't like the way the stocks are moving.

I can't seem to find where to cancel an order when I log on to the Vanguard website. Can I cancel the buy order online on their website, or do I have to call Vanguard customer service and explain why I'm canceling an order

I usually don't believe in market timing like this, but with the Dow Jones moving up and down so erratically, I don't want to be caught throwing my IRA contribution in on a high day, only to lose a lot of it the very next day.

I know there are some Vanguard pros on this board so I would really appreciate any help you guys and gals could give me.

 

[Culture]

The answer: You can't. That is why vangurd notes that the order cannot be canceled on the confirmations screen, right before you push the "execute" button.

 

[mickeyd]

Hey CupCake,

I've heard of people placing a mutual fund buy order early in the day, and then canceling the order before the closing bell at 4:00 pm if they don't like the way the stocks are moving.

Welcome here.

This is news to me. I have always thought that once you have ok'd the trade or exchange online that you were stuck with that and could not make a change. I will be interested if anyone else has had experience in how to rewind a buy order.

 

[ziggy29]

I can't do it with Vanguard -- I can do it with all the other brokerages and fund families that I use -- as long as the cancel comes before the market close.

That's why I tend not to place Vanguard orders until very close to the end of the trading day. If it's early in the morning and the Dow is off 200, I think it might be a good day to move a chunk of my mom's Vanguard IRA from cash to Wellington and Wellesley. But then if the market rallies and finishes UP 300 and I have the trade locked in for the day, I'm hosed.

So I wait -- usually until I know there's not going to be a strong last-hour rally taking the market higher -- to place Vanguard mutual fund trades.

 

[mickeyd]

Ziggy...you old market timer, you!

 

[REWahoo]

I follow the same strategy at Vanguard as Ziggy. Guess you could call us fund daytimers...

 

[mickeyd]

I follow the same strategy at Vanguard as Ziggy. Guess you could call us fund daytimers...

(So do I, but I will not admit it in public)

 

[FUEGO]

Same here. Wait till 3:45 (or 3:59) if you want to know approximately what price you are buying in at.

 

[FIREd]

Me too, I usually place my orders at Vanguard between 3:30 and 3:59 p.m. ET.

 

[CupCake]

Thanks for all the answers.

I guess I was wrong. I thought you could cancel orders on Vanguard, but I guess not. Looks like I'll be practicing market timing the old fashioned way (sitting in front of my computer hitting the refresh bottom to death between 3:00 and 4:00 pm) LOL .

I feel so guilty.

 

[SC]

I also place my Vanguard orders late in the day. However, there was one time when I placed an order to sell a Vanguard fund, intending to buy something cheaper at Fidelity, only to find that there was a typo on Fidelity's web site and the minimum purchase was really 10X what was shown. I called Vanguard and they were able to cancel the sell order for me - whew!

So it can be done, but it's not something I'd take advantage of except in situations like that. I considered it a huge favor since their web site makes it clear that orders may not be changed or canceled once they are placed.