ACATS Transfer

ACATS — the Automated Customer Account Transfer Service — is the electronic system run by the National Securities Clearing Corporation that moves investment accounts from one brokerage firm to another. You initiate the transfer at the receiving firm, and your holdings move in-kind: stocks, bonds, ETFs, most mutual funds, options, and cash transfer without being sold.

ACATS moves brokerage accounts and IRAs between broker-dealers, and the account types must match: a Traditional IRA transfers to a Traditional IRA, a Roth IRA to a Roth IRA, a taxable account to a taxable account. You cannot use ACATS to move a taxable account into an IRA or to convert between IRA types — those are different transactions with tax consequences.

The key limitation for anyone leaving a job: employer plans do not ACATS. A 401(k) or 403(b) is not a brokerage account on the NSCC network — money leaves an employer plan only through the plan's own rollover process (a wire or check from the recordkeeper), which typically takes longer and involves more paperwork. The same applies to death claims on a 401(k): they go through the plan administrator's claim process, not ACATS. Once your money is in an IRA, though, every future move between brokerages can use ACATS.

A standard ACATS transfer completes in about five to seven business days once initiated. A few asset types cannot transfer in-kind — proprietary mutual funds the new firm doesn't carry, annuities, bank CDs, and crypto — and must be sold before the transfer or left behind in the old account.

Practical tips: always start the transfer from the receiving firm, make sure the account registration (name, type) matches exactly on both sides to avoid rejects, and avoid trading during the transfer window — the account is typically frozen for a few days while assets move.