The Keystone Custodian Funds no longer exist under that name. Through a chain of mergers that began in 1996, the Keystone fund family was folded into Evergreen, then Wachovia, then Wells Fargo Advantage Funds, and finally into Allspring Global Investments in December 2021. If you hold an old Keystone Certificate or found one among a relative’s papers, the shares most likely still have value. Getting to that value means contacting Allspring, proving your ownership, and handling some cost-basis questions when you sell.
Who Holds Keystone Assets Today
Keystone Investments was organized in Boston in 1932, and its earliest fund series began offering shares in the mid-1930s.1SEC EDGAR. Keystone Custodian Fund Series S-4 Filing Four corporate transactions moved the funds to their current home.
First Union Corporation acquired Keystone in 1996 and merged its funds into the Evergreen family. First Union combined with Wachovia in 2001. Wells Fargo acquired Wachovia in 2008, and between 2008 and 2010 the Evergreen mutual funds were reorganized into the Wells Fargo Advantage Funds lineup.2U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission. Wells Fargo Advantage Funds Product Alert In 2021 Wells Fargo sold its asset management business to GTCR and Reverence Capital Partners, and the funds were rebranded as Allspring Funds effective December 6, 2021.3Allspring Global Investments. Wells Fargo Funds to Rebrand as Allspring Funds Allspring is now the successor for essentially all legacy Keystone assets.
Along the way, Keystone shares were converted into corresponding Evergreen funds, then into Wells Fargo Advantage funds, then into Allspring funds. The series designation on your certificate (for example, K-1 or S-4) is what identifies which successor fund now holds your money. Keystone’s K-series funds focused on bonds and fixed income; the S-series funds targeted stocks and capital growth. That designation is the lookup key when you call.
How to Locate Your Account
Start with Allspring Global Investments shareholder services at 1-800-222-8222.4Allspring Global Investments. Contact Us Before calling, gather the original Keystone Certificate or the most recent account statement you can find. You want the account number and the fund series designation ready.
Shareholder services can trace legacy accounts through the merger history and identify the current fund holding your shares. They can also give you a current valuation at net asset value, including reinvested dividends and capital gains distributions that piled up over the years. Many holders find their shares kept generating returns long after anyone stopped paying attention to them.
Keystone’s original structure explains why the paperwork looks unfamiliar. The funds were commonly sold through contractual plans, in which the investor agreed to make fixed monthly or quarterly payments over 10 to 15 years to buy shares of a specified series. The investment was represented by a formal Keystone Certificate rather than by individual share certificates, and a commercial bank or trust company served as custodian.
If Allspring Has No Record: Unclaimed Property
Dormant accounts can be turned over to the state. When a financial institution has no owner-initiated contact for several years (typically three to five, depending on the state), it is required to escheat the assets to the state where the account holder last lived. Old Keystone shares may have been liquidated and sent there.
Search at MissingMoney.com, the free national database run by the National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. Most states participate, so you can search across jurisdictions at once.5National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators. National Association of Unclaimed Property Administrators Try every name variation the account might use: maiden names, former addresses, misspellings.
If you find a match, file the claim directly with the state. Expect to provide proof of identity and, for inherited accounts, a death certificate and proof of your right to inherit. States charge no fee to claim your own property, so there is no reason to pay a recovery service a percentage for work you can do yourself.
Lost or Destroyed Certificates
A missing certificate does not mean the shares are gone. The certificate is a record of ownership, not the investment itself, and the fund company’s records should still show the account. Replacing the physical document follows a standard process: an affidavit describing the loss, an indemnity bond to protect the transfer agent in case the original resurfaces, and a request for a replacement.6Investor.gov. Lost or Stolen Stock Certificates The bond typically costs two to three percent of the current market value.
In practice, Allspring shareholder services can often work with you without issuing a new certificate at all, provided you can verify your identity through other documentation. Ask before paying for a bond.
Redeeming the Shares
Once ownership is established, redeeming legacy Keystone shares is a standard mutual fund transaction. Shares are valued at the fund’s net asset value on the redemption date, including all reinvested dividends and capital gains distributions accumulated over the account’s life.
You submit a written redemption request with an authorized signature. For larger transactions, the transfer agent will require a Medallion Signature Guarantee, a verification stamp confirming the signature is genuine and the signer has authority. There is no single regulatory threshold that triggers this. SEC Rule 17Ad-15 requires transfer agents to maintain signature guarantee programs, but each firm sets its own policy on when a guarantee is needed.7U.S. Government Publishing Office. Securities and Exchange Commission Rule 17Ad-15 Most commercial banks, brokerages, and credit unions can provide one.
Inherited Accounts
Inherited shares add a documentation step. Expect to provide a certified death certificate, court-issued probate documents or letters of appointment naming the executor, and identification confirming your authority.8Wells Fargo. Estate Care Center Requirements vary depending on whether the account was individually owned, jointly held, or held in trust.9FINRA. When a Brokerage Account Holder Dies – What Comes Next
Many states also offer simplified small estate procedures when the total personal property falls below a threshold that ranges from roughly $50,000 to $200,000 or more, depending on the state. If the Keystone account is the primary asset and fits under your state’s limit, a small estate affidavit may let you skip full probate. Ask Allspring what it will accept in your specific situation.
Taxes When You Sell
The tax side is where most people get tripped up. The core problem is documenting cost basis, which is what was originally paid for the shares. Without it, the IRS can treat your basis as zero, and the entire redemption becomes a taxable gain.
Cost Basis on Shares You Bought
For shares purchased through a contractual plan, your basis is the total cash you actually paid in, including the portion that went to sales charges. Paying $100 per month for ten years gives you a basis of $12,000 regardless of how much was consumed by commissions.10Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 703 – Basis of Assets Reinvested dividends and capital gains distributions add to basis as well, because tax was already paid on those amounts in the year they were credited.
Decades-old records often don’t exist. Before you redeem, ask Allspring what historical records it can pull. Partial records are better than none.
Stepped-Up Basis on Inherited Shares
Inherited shares get much better tax treatment. Under federal law, inherited property receives a stepped-up basis equal to the 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 The step-up wipes out the accumulated gain from the original owner’s holding period. If shares were worth $15,000 on the date of death and you sell for $16,000, your taxable gain is $1,000.
Noncovered Shares and Reporting
Keystone shares acquired before January 1, 2012 are noncovered securities for cost basis reporting. The fund company is not required to report basis to the IRS for noncovered shares, so any basis figure on your 1099-B is informational only, and calculating the correct number is your responsibility.
When you sell, Allspring issues Form 1099-B reporting the gross proceeds to you and the IRS.13Internal Revenue Service. About Form 1099-B, Proceeds From Broker and Barter Exchange Transactions Report the sale on Form 8949, using Box B for short-term noncovered transactions or Box E for long-term, and carry the totals to Schedule D of Form 1040.14Internal Revenue Service. Instructions for Form 8949 Shares held longer than one year qualify for long-term capital gains rates; one year or less is taxed as ordinary income.15Internal Revenue Service. Topic No. 409 Capital Gains and Losses Since Keystone shares have been held for decades in almost every case, virtually all gains will be long-term.