Slow ACAT withdrawal from Sogoinvest
I decided to withdraw my investments from Sogoinvest. On 2/24/07, I sent in the paper work to Ameritrade to have all my holdings at Sogoinvest transferred in-kind to Ameritrade using the ACAT system.
It’s nearly one month and the transfer still has not been made. Here’s the reply from Ameritrade when I asked them for an update:
We initiated your transfer request by mailing your request directly to the delivering firm because they were unable to accept our request electronically.
Once they receive our request, the delivery date is dependent upon how quickly they respond to our request. We generally allow the delivering firm thirty days to transfer the assets before we follow up with a second request.
I am very disappointed by the (lack of) speed at which Sogoinvest is processing my transfer. I remember my last ACAT transfer from Scottrade to Vanguard took about 2 weeks. And according to Ameritrade’s FAQ, an ACAT transfer should take only about 7 to 10 business days.
While I understand that the delivering brokerage will tend to drag its feet when transferring your assets out, this delay looks to be too excessive. Additional links to Sogoinvest discussions [Link1] [Link2].
Let this post be a warning to potential Sogoinvest clients.
PS. I will update this post when the transfer is completed.
Update 4/27/07
The transfer was completed on 4/26/07. See my post HERE.
Stumble it!
March 20th, 2007 at 8:11 pm
Indexfundfan, I’m SURE glad I didn’t open an account with SoNo-invest, Thanks for you insight ! Vacman( keep me up to date on Wells!) thanks have a good week.
March 21st, 2007 at 9:27 am
when i transfereed my account from schwab to tradeking a few weeks ago, it only took 3 days. Sounds like sogoinvest doesnt want to give up your account.
March 21st, 2007 at 9:37 am
blackhawkzone,
It sure looks like it. Sogoinvest has NO incentive whatsoever to give up accounts; perhaps that explains why they do not accept requests electronically (as told to me by Ameritrade). And maybe, just maybe, they put only one guy, working part time to handle all client outgoing transfers while having many to work on incoming transfers.
March 22nd, 2007 at 2:47 pm
Hi, I guess I must have done more research on Sogo before I signed up online for an account with them on Mar.19th. Their confirmation email said that I would receive an activation link in an email and that was 3 days ago and so far nothing. I even emailed them today inquiring about the status of the application and so far, no news. Now, after reading your posts and the comments by your visitors, I’m not really sure if I should go forward with the account opening process’ step 2 (i.e.) signature forms, ACH forms etc. Like I said, I should have done more research…but now I’m sitting here waiting for them to respond to email after giving out my SSN and all. What a joke.
March 28th, 2007 at 12:00 pm
I did full account ACAT from SogoInvest to Scottrade about 2.5 months ago. It went pretty smoothly. It took less than 2 weeks from the time I mailed the form to Scottrade. So I am not sure whether the issue is with Ameritrade or SogoInvest. I personally don’t have much issue with SogoInvest. The main reason I pulled it out from SogoInvest is because I am trying to consolidate my account.
March 28th, 2007 at 1:29 pm
Thanks acehbee for adding your feedback. Right now I am still waiting. But basically Ameritrade is saying that they have sent the paperwork to Sogoinvest but Sogoinvest hasn’t processed it. I will try to get an update from Ameritrade next week.
April 5th, 2007 at 5:49 am
Indexfundfan, Did your Sogoinvest account get moved yet? You started it 2/24/2007 . It’s taking waaaaaaaay to long for Sogo to tranfer your account to the other broker! Let us know!
April 5th, 2007 at 4:26 pm
Hi Vacman, I am still waiting …
April 10th, 2007 at 6:58 pm
I still think the issue might be with Ameritrade. After my ACAT was completed and I requested SogoInvest to close my account, at the end of the statement period, I earned small interest on my SogoInvest account. This was transfer automatically to my Scottrade account too. May be you should try canceling the ACAT to Ameritrade and try ACAT to your new Wells Fargo account instead.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:28 am
Hey Indexfundfan, Did you EVER get your money moved over. (From Nogo to Wells) It can’t take this long or your forgot to tell us!(this has almost gone on for about 2 months!)Thanks Vacman
April 17th, 2007 at 11:39 am
Vacman & acehbee, thanks for your feedback.
My transfer from Sogo to Ameritrade is still in progress. I did call Ameritrade about two weeks back and they said they have to snail mail the forms to Sogoinvest because Sogoinvest does not process transfers electronically. Yeah, I know. It is close to two months now.
There is one more problem I recently found with Sogo and I will write about it in another post soon.
April 17th, 2007 at 11:52 am
[...] Now I know why I had to wait so long for the transfer out. [...]
April 20th, 2007 at 12:55 pm
Everybody DON’T use just2trade.com I called them on the phone this morning and had 3 questions. I also E-mailed them the questions as well but they have not responded to them yet. So They came on the phone and asked me if they could help! Yes i said my question is how about Ach’s and how long can the password be and is it cAsE sEnSiTiVe? She said “I think it is but not sure”how about the length of the password? She said”I think it is 9 or 10 letters long ” After talking with her I wasn’t very impressed!! So I said I would get back with you later. Bye. 5 minutes later I went to see if my E-mails were answered yet and NO they weren’t(I understand it is Friday and the market is going up etc.etc.) So I got on the phone and called them and WAS going to ask the same question that I had on my e-mail(since it wasn’t answered yet!) She comes on the phone she asked for my name and I told her my first name she said I’m going to put you on hold for a sec. (30 seconds later) another woman comes on the phone and ask “WHAT I AM calling back a second time for” and you sent us an e-mail!!!! I said”then answer the E-mail” I told her I WON’T be calling back and I’ll STAY WITH SCOTTRADE EVEN IF I HAVE TO PAY $4.50 MORE PER TRADE!!! I thought that maybe I could save a dollar or so if I could trade cheaper elsewhere. Boy did I learn a lesson. Don’t try anyone else. Stay with the OLD FAITHFUL broker. Scottrade HAS never said to me WHY ARE YOU CALLING !!! (I just laughed and laughed)
April 24th, 2007 at 1:40 pm
Indexfundfan, Are you really still waiting for the ACAT from Sogoinvest or did you forget to tell us?Vacman
April 24th, 2007 at 2:04 pm
I am waiting. Here’s the last reply from Ameritrade when I asked them for an update:
Our clearing firm has contacted the delivering firm for the status of your transfer request. They have advised me that your transfer should be completed within the next 7 to 10 business days. If any issues arise with the transfer, we will contact you.
As you probably know, Sogoinvest has added a $50-fee to outgoing ACATs after I initiated the transfer some time in February. I would be extremely annoyed if I get charged this fee because Sogoinvest appears to be purposely delaying the transfer to earn the $50. If this is the case, I would consider filing complaints with the BBB or the SEC.
April 24th, 2007 at 5:23 pm
ok,thanks for the response!
April 27th, 2007 at 7:09 am
[...] first involved a ACAT transfer of all my holdings at Sogoinvest to Ameritrade. This transfer took a LONG time to complete: the transfer request was mailed on 2/24/2007 and was [...]
April 27th, 2007 at 10:18 pm
[...] links [1] [2] [...]
May 1st, 2007 at 7:58 am
I dont know what the problem is. I have had no problems with Just2trade. I set it up online and my orders are executed. I had a question and it was answered. Is it possible that you may be wrong Vacman?
May 1st, 2007 at 1:32 pm
Sogoinvest has made several changes recently.I have talked to several customer service personnel and they have told me different responses to some of my concerns.I have found that rules dealing with margin accounts and ach outs are very unclear.Dont bother calling them,thier low paid support may not be able to clear it up.My advice after dealing with them and still having problems.Consider another brokerage.Very dissapointing.They are also currently having software problems on thier site.
May 15th, 2007 at 4:05 pm
Hope it worked out for you. I’ve been trying unsuccessfully for a month to withdraw funds from my Sogoinvest account. Never encountered anything like this before with any other broker. There seems to be a pattern here.
May 15th, 2007 at 4:15 pm
Octafish, my ACAT was already completed. See my post :
http://www.indextown.com/archives/2007/04/27/two-stock-transfers-completed/
May 28th, 2007 at 3:12 am
I do have invested in sogoinvest and is having all transactions running smoothly, as far as transer of ACAT is concern it is almost same for all clients, I am not their manager but I am saying so because i have been highly satisfied with their services.
April 7th, 2010 at 8:35 am
Don’t be to quick to not also blame Ameritrade. They “lost” my husband’s federally required withdrawal for a week and only tracked it at his insistence. Where did it Go? Who collected interest