diff --git a/Cargo.lock b/Cargo.lock
index 878ee69468..4a0679b29b 100644
--- a/Cargo.lock
+++ b/Cargo.lock
@@ -38,6 +38,7 @@ dependencies = [
 name = "account_utils"
 version = "0.1.0"
 dependencies = [
+ "directory",
  "eth2_keystore",
  "eth2_wallet",
  "rand 0.7.3",
diff --git a/account_manager/src/validator/mod.rs b/account_manager/src/validator/mod.rs
index 99d8da01b7..042a35ccdc 100644
--- a/account_manager/src/validator/mod.rs
+++ b/account_manager/src/validator/mod.rs
@@ -26,7 +26,6 @@ pub fn cli_app<'a, 'b>() -> App<'a, 'b> {
                     Defaults to ~/.lighthouse/{testnet}/validators",
                 )
                 .takes_value(true)
-                .global(true)
                 .conflicts_with("datadir"),
         )
         .subcommand(create::cli_app())
diff --git a/account_manager/src/wallet/mod.rs b/account_manager/src/wallet/mod.rs
index d745cbcd2c..4ab957ecb9 100644
--- a/account_manager/src/wallet/mod.rs
+++ b/account_manager/src/wallet/mod.rs
@@ -18,7 +18,6 @@ pub fn cli_app<'a, 'b>() -> App<'a, 'b> {
                 .value_name("WALLETS_DIRECTORY")
                 .help("A path containing Eth2 EIP-2386 wallets. Defaults to ~/.lighthouse/{testnet}/wallets")
                 .takes_value(true)
-                .global(true)
                 .conflicts_with("datadir"),
         )
         .subcommand(create::cli_app())
diff --git a/common/account_utils/Cargo.toml b/common/account_utils/Cargo.toml
index 7b8b2822e9..1b7580ded4 100644
--- a/common/account_utils/Cargo.toml
+++ b/common/account_utils/Cargo.toml
@@ -19,3 +19,4 @@ types = { path = "../../consensus/types" }
 validator_dir = { path = "../validator_dir" }
 regex = "1.3.9"
 rpassword = "5.0.0"
+directory = { path = "../directory" }
diff --git a/common/account_utils/src/validator_definitions.rs b/common/account_utils/src/validator_definitions.rs
index b69678628c..11cfa1c142 100644
--- a/common/account_utils/src/validator_definitions.rs
+++ b/common/account_utils/src/validator_definitions.rs
@@ -4,6 +4,7 @@
 //! attempt) to load into the `crate::intialized_validators::InitializedValidators` struct.
 
 use crate::{create_with_600_perms, default_keystore_password_path, ZeroizeString};
+use directory::ensure_dir_exists;
 use eth2_keystore::Keystore;
 use regex::Regex;
 use serde_derive::{Deserialize, Serialize};
@@ -35,6 +36,8 @@ pub enum Error {
     InvalidKeystorePubkey,
     /// The keystore was unable to be opened.
     UnableToOpenKeystore(eth2_keystore::Error),
+    /// The validator directory could not be created.
+    UnableToCreateValidatorDir(PathBuf),
 }
 
 /// Defines how the validator client should attempt to sign messages for this validator.
@@ -108,6 +111,9 @@ pub struct ValidatorDefinitions(Vec<ValidatorDefinition>);
 impl ValidatorDefinitions {
     /// Open an existing file or create a new, empty one if it does not exist.
     pub fn open_or_create<P: AsRef<Path>>(validators_dir: P) -> Result<Self, Error> {
+        ensure_dir_exists(validators_dir.as_ref()).map_err(|_| {
+            Error::UnableToCreateValidatorDir(PathBuf::from(validators_dir.as_ref()))
+        })?;
         let config_path = validators_dir.as_ref().join(CONFIG_FILENAME);
         if !config_path.exists() {
             let this = Self::default();