Medallion signature guarantee..

[jetpack]

So, I'm trying to roll over my IRA to Vanguard... They are insisting that I
get a signature guarantee since the account is over $500k..

My local bank will only guarantee 250K... and my only other, bigger nearby bank will only do 500k (though I'd have to open an account)... So, I'm sorta at a loss for what to do. Maybe the account can be transferred in stages. Has anyone else run into this problem?

 

[REWahoo]

Maybe the account can be transferred in stages.

Yep, that's the way I would go.

Check how long the bank will require you to wait before they will guarantee the second 250 and if it is 90 days or less, do it in two steps. If longer, consider opening the other account, but be sure to check if there are any limits on how long you must have the money on deposit before they will do the 500 guarantee.

 

[GrayHare]

I've been told VG may let those with voice verification skip the medallion process, but you'd have to check with VG.

 

[flotsamandjetsam]

We just completed a transaction with Vanguard that required a "signature guarantee". Our local bank was happy to guarantee our signatures as long as the word "medallion" was not anywhere on the form. No reference to the dollar value of the transaction was necessary. Maybe check again to see if a medallion guarantee is really what's called for?

 

[pb4uski]

So, I'm trying to roll over my IRA to Vanguard... They are insisting that I
get a signature guarantee since the account is over $500k..

My local bank will only guarantee 250K... and my only other, bigger nearby bank will only do 500k (though I'd have to open an account)... So, I'm sorta at a loss for what to do. Maybe the account can be transferred in stages. Has anyone else run into this problem?

What I did was I opened an account with $100 (probably more than I needed to) and got the guarantee. I let the account sit for a while and after a couple years I had no particular need for a medallion signature guarantee so i closed the account figuring I can do the same thing again if I ever need a medallion signature guarantee.

Or you can do it in $250k chunks, but that would take a bit of time.

 

[Tandemlovers]

I had to obtain a medallion signature from our credit union for the purpose of transferring
some stocks into our brokerage account with Vanguard.
Our credit union requires that a bank officer perform this service. It was something of an
ordeal: to get medallion signatures for the purpose of transferring ten stocks took about an
hour, what with all the photocopying and recording of stock details that she had to do.

 

[MBAustin]

I had to get a medallion guarantee to transfer shares of stock from a Merrill Lynch account to a local charity even though the value was less than $10K. To top it off, I had to mail the paper form in to Merrill Lynch even though there was a Merrill Lynch person sitting right there in the Bank of America branch where I got the medallion signature. You'd think they might enter the 21st century?

 

[scrabbler1]

Back in 2008 when I ERed, I wanted to do an electronic transfer of funds from my Megacorp's 401k administrator to my local bank's (BofA) checking account. Because the value of the company stock I was cashing out exceeded $100k, I needed a medallion signature from a BofA bank manager. It was a minor ordeal, taking me 4 visits to 3 bank branches spread out over several days before I was able to finally get one. But once I did, everything went fine.

 

[tuixiu]

We had to get one recently to do a Roth from USAA -> Vanguard, it was pretty painless at our local Wells Fargo some dude happened to be medallion-boy and he stamped some stuff on the bottom of the papers and that was it. No photocopies no nuttin. Actually they did ask how long I'd had my account there so maybe there was some min time for it being a free service, not sure.

 

[NW-Bound]

The first time I knew of "medallion signature guarantee" was when I opened an account at Vanguard a few years ago. I had already opened the account over the Web, and had transferred a few thousands from my B-of-A account to Vanguard. When I wanted to transfer in some additional fund, Vanguard suddenly demanded a signature guarantee, even though they had accepted the initial deposit without any problem. Why the big deal?

So, I went to my B-of-A nearest branch, and they asked if it needed to be "Medallion". Huh? They explained to me that it was a higher level than a "plain" guarantee, and I should get it to be sure. So, they sent me to another branch where there's a bank officer with that authority, and I got the paperwork.

 

[Texas Proud]

When I was a trust officer, I somehow got hold of a medallion stamp.... it seems that it was something hard to get (I worked for the bank)... There were hundreds of people and many higher in the org than me, but I got it... still to this day do not know how they decided it was me...


It was rare for me to stamp anything.... and I dealt with billions of dollars... most transfers were book entry and were electronic.....

 

[haha]

So, I'm trying to roll over my IRA to Vanguard... They are insisting that I
get a signature guarantee since the account is over $500k..

My local bank will only guarantee 250K... and my only other, bigger nearby bank will only do 500k (though I'd have to open an account)... So, I'm sorta at a loss for what to do. Maybe the account can be transferred in stages. Has anyone else run into this problem?

Consider that there may be other, more cooperative brokers than Vanguard.

Ha

 

[MichaelB]

The demand for signature guarantee is imposed by the current custodian. Vanguard has no need for it, they know that when they present the asset transfer paperwork it will be rejected by the current broker unless the signature guarantee is in place.

 

[Texas Proud]

The demand for signature guarantee is imposed by the current custodian. Vanguard has no need for it, they know that when they present the asset transfer paperwork it will be rejected by the current broker unless the signature guarantee is in place.

Yes, this is a way of slowing down the transfer of assets....

 

[gozer]

The demand for signature guarantee is imposed by the current custodian. Vanguard has no need for it, they know that when they present the asset transfer paperwork it will be rejected by the current broker unless the signature guarantee is in place.

I second this. We were able to move my wife's 401K to a Vanguard IRA with no signature guarantee. It was over 500K. Company has since changed 401K custodians. I hope the new one is as easy with transfers as the old one. I get to do this with mine in a few months.

The only time I have ever required a signature guarantee was when changing the registration of an account. (adding my wife to an existing acct)

 

[MBAustin]

Bumping this thread for an update:

I'm transferring my inherited IRA from my mother's custodian over to VG and the current custodian requires Medallion guarantees. So I contacted my BofA branch (where I got one last year for the transfer noted above, and another one earlier this year for another account I inherited from my mother). The branch manager informed me that BofA will no longer do Medallion guarantees except for Merrill Lynch transactions. So I have a call into the current custodian to find out what I'm supposed to do.

I did a little googling (there's a good thread over at Bogleheads) and it appears that this is a trend. Basically, the big financial institutions no longer want to take on the liability that the Medallion guarantee requires.

Sigh...

 

[meierlde]

Bumping this thread for an update:

I'm transferring my inherited IRA from my mother's custodian over to VG and the current custodian requires Medallion guarantees. So I contacted my BofA branch (where I got one last year for the transfer noted above, and another one earlier this year for another account I inherited from my mother). The branch manager informed me that BofA will no longer do Medallion guarantees except for Merrill Lynch transactions. So I have a call into the current custodian to find out what I'm supposed to do.

I did a little googling (there's a good thread over at Bogleheads) and it appears that this is a trend. Basically, the big financial institutions no longer want to take on the liability that the Medallion guarantee requires.

Sigh...

Is that where you have your other accounts. If so it sounds like a good reason to change banks. Go with a bank that does not have a brokerage attached (likley a local bank) and if you have an account they will likley handle the matter.

 

[TrvlBug]

This is one of the reasons I have kept most of our funds at Fidelity. A local branch is 20 minutes away and does the Medallion guarantees, notary services, etc. if I have trouble with other vendors.

 

[SumDay]

I dropped a brokerage service because of the medallion requirement. Pain in the patoot.

 

[grasshopper]

Vanguard will do medallion guarantees over the phone with Vanguard Voice Verification™. This voice recognition system is a highly effective method of verifying your identity and makes it possible for you to perform many transactions that would typically require paperwork and a signature guarantee.

 

[Badger]

I had to get a medallion guarantee to transfer shares of stock from a Merrill Lynch account to a local charity even though the value was less than $10K. To top it off, I had to mail the paper form in to Merrill Lynch even though there was a Merrill Lynch person sitting right there in the Bank of America branch where I got the medallion signature. You'd think they might enter the 21st century?

Yet another reason why to get rid of Merrill Lynch. DW had way too many problems with them and got rid of them years ago as soon as she could.

Cheers!

 

[kimcdougc]

Never heard of this until now. Thank you all for educating me before I have to do all of this paper flow when I retire at the end of the year. Who ever knew retiring could be so complicated.

 

[MBAustin]

Is that where you have your other accounts. If so it sounds like a good reason to change banks. Go with a bank that does not have a brokerage attached (likley a local bank) and if you have an account they will likley handle the matter.

Yes, we do all our banking at BofA. I'm really not inclined to go through all the hassles of switching banks over this (I have more than 50 companies set up with the BofA online bill-pay for example). But I may check out a small local bank nearby and see whether getting a CD or savings account would do this in the future...thanks for the suggestion

Vanguard will do medallion guarantees over the phone with Vanguard Voice Verification™. This voice recognition system is a highly effective method of verifying your identity and makes it possible for you to perform many transactions that would typically require paperwork and a signature guarantee.

In this case, it isn't Vanguard that requires it but the current custodian (where my parents had their IRAs). But I think I'll sign up for the Vanguard voice verification system now - never bothered when they first sent out emails about it.

The good news is that the other custodian agreed to waive the medallion requirement and will take a regular signature guarantee now, which BofA will do. So I'm off to the bank this afternoon.

Thanks for all the tips!

 

[almost_there]

I had to do a medallion signature guarantee to get some funds from a POD account for which I was the beneficiary. The brokerage that held the funds would give me the balance but would not cut a check without the guarantee and a death certificate. Got no help from BofA even though I've had a checking account there for many years and even had a mortgage with them at one time. Called Morgan Stanley where I have an IRA account. They said sure, no problem just come to the local office. Ran over there, showed my drivers license and I was good to go.

 

[COcheesehead]

Bumping this thread. I need a medallion guarantee for a rollover from American Funds to Fidelity. My bank would have to do it as three transactions because they can only do up to $250,000. That will take awhile. The nearest bank that can handle my amount is almost a four hour drive away.
Argh.....

I never heard of a medallion guarantee until today and now I wish I had not.