Vanguard web connect not importing properly

fpsiv

I've used web connect (D/L .qfx file) w/Vanguard for years w/o issue. Typically generate .qfx files with the 'each fund into a separate account' option and a 3-month lookback. Starting late August / early September importing the .qfx file content into Quicken does not behave as expected. Instead of importing the transactions into the proper accounts to review/accept the following occurs:

Presented with 'Import Downloaded Transactions' dialog box with the option to 'Create a new account' or 'Link to existing account' (this is new behavior - or at least new since the accounts were set up in Quicken years ago).

Forging ahead anyway, the interface cycles through both accounts in the .qfx file and I select the correct existing account in Quicken to link to each time.

At this point the 'Matching Security' dialog appears multiple times - the suggested matching securities always appear to be correct but the resulting entries in the 'Downloaded Transactions' table are mostly 'Unidentified Security'.

The import stops after processing the transactions for the first account in the .qfx file - never progresses to the second account. 

I have tried restoring a backup from 3+ months ago as a test, but the same scenario plays out. Seems to implicate either a recent Quicken software update, or some change to how Vanguard is generating the .qfx files. The Vanguard web interface for creating the .qfx files did change in roughly this time period but I haven't found anything obvious in the .qfx content.

Thanks!

-Frank

Quicken Classic/Windows

R59.18/27.1.59.18

QuickUser

I have the exact same problem, but only with my employers 403b accounts with Vanguard. For my IRA and brokerage accounts, I had to switch to direct connect for the transactions to import correctly without placeholders and unidentified security errors. Issues started in late August/early September. Something changed at Vanguard and/or with Quicken.

fpsiv

Thanks for the reply - at least we know it's not a one-off. My accounts exhibiting this behavior are also 403b.

-Frank

LMert

Just commenting because I'm having the same issue with my company 401(k); hopefully more people commenting will help direct some effort towards a fix.

Quicken Kristina

Hello @fpsiv, @QuickUser, and @LMert,

Have you contacted the financial institution about this issue? Since the file is generated by the financial institution, data that is incorrect or not importing correctly is usually a result of the data/formatting the financial institution is using.

If you want to try reverting to an earlier version of Quicken, to test if an update to the Quicken program caused the issue, you can use this article to find an update patch that predates when the issue started:

https://www.quicken.com/support/reinstalling-and-patching-your-quicken-subscription-version-after-your-membership-has/

I hope this helps!

fpsiv

@Quicken Kristina - Thanks for the information. I went through the process of downgrading Quicken to a version that predates the onset of this issue, but did not see a change in behavior when attempting to import a more recent .qfx file. I have reached out to Vanguard about this issue but have not received any actionable guidance. In order to run this down I think I'm going to have to work directly with Quicken support to diagnose how and why the import process is failing. There is evidently some disconnect between how the affected accounts and holdings are represented in the .qfx file and the quicken data file, or the mapping between the two during the import process. Is it possible to escalate an issue like this to such a support request?

Thanks,

-Frank

QuickUser

I think it has something to do with the security CUSIP number. The downloaded security’s CUSIP number is not matching the number already in Quicken. This causes an unidentified security error.

Chris_QPW

It sounds like they have really messed up the QFX file.

When you get the 'Create a new account' prompt that is because the account information has been changed.

Security mismatches are caused by what @QuickUser suggested (the wrong CUSIP).

Not going past the first account suggests that either the other accounts aren't in the data file or some kind of formatting problem.

If I had to take a wild guess, I would say that Vanguard is no longer supporting individual accounts per security. They have been going away from that for many years now.

Quicken Kristina

Thank you for your reply @fpsiv,

Issues with .QFX files are very difficult to escalate through Quicken Support because the file is created by the financial institution, and Support would refer you to the financial institution to resolve the issue.

You mentioned that you already reached out to Vanguard. Did you talk to a supervisor or a higher tier of tech support with them (since they're usually the ones who would be most knowledgable about 3rd party integrations)? What guidance did they give you?

I look forward to your response!