How to withdraw money from Vanguard: UK guide

Disclaimer: The information in this article is for reference purposes only. Wise does not offer to buy or sell stocks, and all information on this page should not be considered financial advice. All investment decisions should be made after thorough research and consultation with a qualified financial advisor. Remember that investments, even in low-risk funds, are never guaranteed and your capital is at risk.

Have investments with Vanguard, but now need to access your money? Whether you have surplus funds in your account or you’ve earned returns and want to cash out, you’ll need to know how to withdraw money from the platform.

Vanguard is a US-based investment company, one of the largest in the world - with more than 50 million customers according to the company’s website.¹

In this helpful guide, we’ll show you how to withdraw money from a Vanguard account. We’ll look at the steps involved, including how to add a linked bank account, and whether there are any fees.

So, let’s get started.

How to withdraw my portfolio from Vanguard

If you have money in your Vanguard account that you’d like to withdraw, you can carry straight on to the steps below.

But if you have shares you need to sell first, you’ll need to do the following:²

1. Login to your account on the Vanguard website - you can also use the Vanguard mobile app if you prefer
2. From the ‘My Portfolio’ dropdown menu, choose the account you’d like to sell from (if you have more than one)
3. Go to ‘Investments’ - you should find this on the left-hand menu
4. On the ‘Holdings’ tab, click the three dots under the heading ‘Actions’ - this should give you a link to sell
5. Choose whether you’d like the proceeds of the sale to be left as cash, or used to buy other investments (Vanguard refers to this as a ‘Switch’)
6. Select what you want to sell and the amount/value
7. Check the details and confirm.

If Vanguard makes investment decisions for you, you’ll need to get in touch with your account manager to discuss selling investments.

And before you start, it’s recommended to seek professional advice. You might find there are tax or other implications related to selling shares or funds.

Now, if you have cash in your Vanguard account, you’ll need to know how to withdraw it directly to your bank account. Read on for a detailed walkthrough of the steps involved.

Step 1: Login to your Vanguard account

The first thing to do is head to VanguardInvestor.co.uk and login to your account. You can also access your portfolio via the Vanguard mobile app if you prefer.

Either should be easy to do, providing you remember the login details you used to register for an account on the platform. You can always use the ‘Forgot password’ option if not.

Step 2: Add a linked bank account

Before you can withdraw any money, you’ll need to make sure you have a bank account linked to your Vanguard account. This will be the account you’d like to send funds to.

You can add one (if you haven’t already) by following these steps:³

1. Login to your Vanguard account online
2. From the menu, select ‘My Profile’
3. Go to ‘Account settings’ and follow the steps to add a new bank account - you’ll need your bank details to hand.
4. Check the details and confirm,
5. Vanguard will need to verify your bank account. This is often done immediately, but in some cases you may be prompted to upload some documents. This can take up to 5 working days.⁴

You can only add personal UK bank accounts in your own name to a Vanguard personal investor account.³

Step 3: Withdraw money

Now you’re ready to withdraw funds from your Vanguard account. Here’s how to do it:⁵

1. Login to your Vanguard account
2. From the menu, select ‘Payments’
3. Select the ‘Money out’ tab
4. On this screen, you’ll see any money held as cash that is available for withdrawal.
5. Select ‘Withdraw cash’ to proceed.
6. Follow the on-screen instructions, selecting the amount you want to withdraw and the linked account to send it to.
7. Check the details carefully and confirm.

The steps above apply to both the Vanguard General Account and Stocks and Shares ISA.

Step 4: Receive confirmation and wait for your withdrawal to be processed

Once your request has been submitted, it will display as ‘withdrawal pending’ in the ‘Cash statement’ tab of your account - under ‘Transactions’. You may also receive a confirmation email or other notification from Vanguard.

All that’s left to do is wait for the money to be delivered to your bank account or card.

It should take 1 to 3 working days for your money to arrive.⁵

If you have any issues, you can contact Vanguard via message, chat or phone. You’ll find the contact details here.

Vanguard withdrawal fees

Vanguard doesn’t charge any specific fees for withdrawing money from your account, transferring out or switching funds.⁶

It’s all covered under your account fee and fund management costs. This applies to both the Vanguard General Account and Stocks and Shares ISA.

This means you can move money to your bank account whenever you like, without worrying about withdrawal fees.

Save on currency conversion when withdrawing from overseas investment platforms

If your investments or RSUs are held in an overseas investment or equity compensation platform, you may get an unpleasant surprise when you come to withdraw money or transfer shares.

You might find that a sizable chunk has been lost to currency conversion fees and poor exchange rates. For example, this can happen when sending or transferring proceeds in USD to a UK account denominated in GBP. If you’re withdrawing or transferring a lot of money, it could add up to hundreds of pounds.

Luckily, there’s a way to shrink these currency conversion costs right down.

Open a Wise account and you can receive money in other currencies for free by turning on local account details (restrictions apply).

For example, you’ll get access to US Dollar account details (i.e. account number and BIC) so that you can receive USD without conversion fees, it also means you can get paid directly in dollars even if you are in the UK.

Once you have all your dollars in Wise, you’ll then have complete control over the currency conversion. You can convert your money to GBP within your Wise account at the mid-market exchange rate, for low, transparent fees*.

You can do this instantly or hang onto the USD to use your Wise account for other US-based investments when the time is right. It’s completely up to you.

Open a Wise account 🌍

After reading this, you should have all the info you need on how to withdraw money from your Vanguard accounts.

The good news is that it should be pretty straightforward to do, as long as you have a bank account linked to your Vanguard account already. If not, you may have to wait a few days for your newly added bank account to be verified.

And it shouldn’t cost you anything either, as Vanguard doesn’t charge withdrawal fees.

Just make sure you check all the details of your withdrawal or transfer before confirming it.

And before you withdraw any money from the platform, you might also want to seek professional advice to help you understand any potential tax implications. An expert can also help you to manage your investments effectively.

Sources used:

1. Vanguard - personal investors
2. Vanguard - selling funds
3. Vanguard - adding and updating your details
4. Vanguard - verifying identity or bank account
5. Vanguard - withdrawing
6. Vanguard - fees and charges

Sources last checked on date: 24-Mar-2025