If you’re holding an old certificate from the Keystone Custodian Funds, the shares most likely still exist and still have value. The funds no longer trade under the Keystone name, but through a series of mergers the accounts ended up at Allspring Global Investments, which took over the former Wells Fargo Asset Management business in late 2021.1Allspring Global Investments. Wells Fargo Funds to Rebrand as Allspring Funds Recovering them is a matter of finding the right account, proving who you are, and handling the tax reporting correctly when you sell.
Who Holds Your Shares Now
Keystone Investments was organized in Boston in 1932, and its fund series were sold for decades through contractual plans represented by a Keystone Certificate rather than ordinary share certificates.2SEC EDGAR. Keystone Custodian Fund Series S-4 Filing The company and its funds changed hands four times after that.
First Union Corporation acquired Keystone Investments in 1996 and folded the portfolios into its existing Evergreen fund family, retiring the Keystone fund names. First Union merged with Wachovia in 2001, and the Evergreen funds carried on under Wachovia. Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia during the 2008 financial crisis, and between 2008 and 2010 the Evergreen funds were reorganized into the Wells Fargo Advantage Funds lineup.3U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Product Alert In 2021, Wells Fargo sold its asset management arm to GTCR and Reverence Capital Partners, which renamed it Allspring Global Investments and rebranded the funds as Allspring Funds effective December 6, 2021.
For practical purposes, Allspring is the successor for virtually all legacy Keystone accounts.
How to Locate the Account
Start with Allspring Global Investments shareholder services at 1-800-222-8222.4Allspring Global Investments. Contact Us Have the original certificate or the most recent account statement in front of you. The two pieces of information that matter most are the account number and the fund series designation on the certificate, because the series tells the representative which successor fund your shares were converted into through the mergers.
Allspring’s team can trace the account through the merger history, identify the current fund, and give you a valuation at current net asset value. That figure will include dividends and capital gains distributions that were reinvested over the years, which can add up to significantly more than the original investment, even on accounts that were forgotten for decades.
If Allspring Has No Record
Accounts that went dormant for years may have been liquidated and turned over to the state as unclaimed property. Financial institutions are required by state law to escheat accounts after a period of no owner contact, generally three to five years.
Search MissingMoney.com, the free national database run by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators.5National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators Try every name the account could have been registered under, including maiden names, former spellings, and prior addresses. If something turns up, you claim it directly from the state. For an inherited account, that means supplying a death certificate and proof you’re the rightful heir. States do not charge to return your own property, so there’s no reason to pay a recovery service a percentage to do what you can do yourself.
If the Certificate Is Lost
A missing Keystone Certificate does not mean the shares are gone. The certificate recorded ownership; the fund company’s books hold the account. The standard route to replace a lost securities certificate is to file an affidavit explaining the loss, purchase an indemnity bond to protect the transfer agent if the original ever reappears, and request a replacement.6Investor.gov. Lost or Stolen Stock Certificates The bond typically costs two to three percent of the current market value of the shares. In many cases, Allspring can work directly from the account record if you can verify your identity another way, which avoids the bond.
Redeeming the Shares
Once the account is located and you’ve established yourself as the rightful owner, cashing in is a standard mutual fund redemption. The shares are valued at the fund’s net asset value on the date of redemption, including all reinvested distributions.
You submit a written redemption request with an authorized signature. For larger transactions, the transfer agent will require a Medallion Signature Guarantee, a stamp confirming the signature is genuine and the signer has legal authority to act. There is no single dollar threshold set by regulation; SEC Rule 17Ad-15 requires transfer agents to maintain a signature guarantee program, but each firm sets its own policy on when the guarantee is needed.7U.S. Government Publishing Office. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 17Ad-15 Most banks, brokerage firms, and credit unions can provide one.
Inherited Accounts
If you inherited the shares, expect to supply more documentation: a certified death certificate, court-issued probate papers or letters of appointment naming the executor, and your own identification.8Wells Fargo. Estate Care Center Requirements vary depending on whether the account was individual, joint, or in trust.9FINRA. When a Brokerage Account Holder Dies – What Comes Next
Many states allow a simplified small-estate procedure when the decedent’s personal property falls below a threshold, which varies widely from roughly $50,000 to $200,000 or more. If the Keystone account is the main asset and sits below your state’s limit, a small-estate affidavit may let you avoid full probate. Ask Allspring what it will accept in your circumstances before you start assembling papers.
Taxes When You Sell
The hardest part of liquidating a long-dormant Keystone account is usually not the paperwork but the tax basis.
Cost Basis on Shares You Bought
For shares purchased through a contractual plan, your cost basis is the total cash you paid in, including the sales charges that came out of early payments. Ten years of $100 monthly payments gives you a basis of $12,000 regardless of how much went to commissions.10Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 703 – Basis of Assets Reinvested dividends and capital gains distributions add to that basis, since the tax on them was paid in the year they were received.
The practical issue is that decades-old records often no longer exist. If you cannot document basis at all, the IRS may treat it as zero and tax the entire redemption as capital gain. Ask Allspring what historical account records it still has before you sell. Partial records are far better than none.
Stepped-Up Basis on Inherited Shares
Inherited shares get much better tax treatment. Under federal law, inherited property takes a basis equal to its fair market value on the date of the original owner’s death.11Office of the Law Revision Counsel. 26 USC 1014 – Basis of Property Acquired From a Decedent If the executor filed an estate tax return and elected the alternate valuation date, that date applies instead.12Internal Revenue Service. Gifts and Inheritances This step-up erases the accumulated gain from the original owner’s holding period. Shares worth $15,000 on the date of death and sold for $16,000 produce a taxable gain of $1,000.
Reporting the Sale
Keystone shares acquired before January 1, 2012 are classified as noncovered securities for cost basis reporting. The fund is not required to report basis to the IRS on noncovered shares; any basis figure on your Form 1099-B is for your reference, and the responsibility for the correct number is yours.
When you redeem, the fund issues Form 1099-B reporting the gross proceeds to you and to the IRS.13Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-B, Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions You report the sale on Form 8949, using Box B for short-term noncovered transactions or Box E for long-term noncovered transactions, and carry the totals to Schedule D of Form 1040.14Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8949 Shares held longer than a year qualify for long-term capital gains rates; shares held a year or less are taxed as ordinary income.15Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409 Capital Gains and Losses With a Keystone account, essentially all of the gain will be long-term.