Understand corporate actions & when to respond
Common voluntary corporate action events
Some offers require response online or over the phone to apply your election decision to your investments. Here are some examples of common voluntary corporate actions:
How to access or participate in a voluntary corporate action
Log onto your Vanguard account on your computer and select Holdings. Below your account number, select Corporate actions. Then select the Event reference number to read more about the offer. If you decide to participate, you must respond by the response deadline stated in the offer.
Response submission policy
What are warrants and how do I exercise them?
Warrants give the holder the right to purchase a certain number of shares at a set price during an extended period. Warrants can usually be transferred, traded, or exercised by the holder.
Note: Warrants can trade while they still have value in the market or until they expire. If you don’t take any action before their expiration date, they’ll automatically be redeemed for little to no value.
How to exercise them:
- Warrant exercises will be available online through our Voluntary Corporate Actions portal one month prior to expiration. If you’d like to exercise them earlier, you can give us a call.
- Not all warrants can be exercised. You can find details about their features in the company's prospectus.
Abandonment of securities
You can elect to abandon one or multiple securities anytime by removing them from your account. By doing so, you permanently surrender and relinquish all rights and title in the abandoned securities.
If you wish to abandon one or multiple securities, log in to your Vanguard account, choose Forms from the top header, select the Search using title or keyword tab, and key in “Abandonment Request Form.”
Common mandatory corporate action events
Some offers may also require you to respond either online or over the phone to apply your election decision to your investments. Here are some examples of some common mandatory corporate actions:
Special due bill processing
Tracks who’s due a pending payment when a stock is bought or sold after the record date of a distribution. Due bills are typically used for special dividend payments, stock splits, spin-offs, and sometimes during the issuing of rights and warrants.
When an event carries a due bill, the ex-dividend date of the distribution falls after the record date. The due bill ensures that shareholders are paid based on the ex-dividend date even if the stock was traded after the record date.
Explore professional advice
We offer expert help at the low cost you'd expect from Vanguard.
Open or transfer accounts
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.
You must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares through Vanguard Brokerage Services (we offer them commission-free online) or through another broker (who may charge commissions). See the Vanguard Brokerage Services Commission and Fee Schedules for limits. Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable directly with the issuing Fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of dollars. ETFs are subject to market volatility. When buying or selling an ETF, you will pay or receive the current market price, which may be more or less than net asset value.
Vanguard's advice services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc. ("VAI"), a registered investment advisor, or by Vanguard National Trust Company ("VNTC"), a federally chartered, limited-purpose trust company.
The services provided to clients will vary based upon the service selected, including management, fees, eligibility, and access to an advisor. Find VAI's Form CRS and each program's advisory brochure here for an overview.
VAI and VNTC are subsidiaries of The Vanguard Group, Inc., and affiliates of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Neither VAI, VNTC, nor its affiliates guarantee profits or protection from losses.