diff --git a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding/Binders/CompositeModelBinder.cs b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding/Binders/CompositeModelBinder.cs
index c2f7bd16f2..03afe597eb 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding/Binders/CompositeModelBinder.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding/Binders/CompositeModelBinder.cs
@@ -15,7 +15,6 @@
 // See the Apache 2 License for the specific language governing
 // permissions and limitations under the License.
 
-using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
 using System.Linq;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
@@ -44,7 +43,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding
 
         private IModelBinder[] Binders { get; set; }
 
-        public virtual async Task<bool> BindModelAsync(ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
+        public virtual async Task<bool> BindModelAsync([NotNull] ModelBindingContext bindingContext)
         {
             var newBindingContext = CreateNewBindingContext(bindingContext, 
                                                             bindingContext.ModelName, 
@@ -66,22 +65,30 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding
                 return false; // something went wrong
             }
 
-            // run validation and return the model
-            // If we fell back to an empty prefix above and are dealing with simple types,
-            // propagate the non-blank model name through for user clarity in validation errors.
-            // Complex types will reveal their individual properties as model names and do not require this.
-            if (!newBindingContext.ModelMetadata.IsComplexType && String.IsNullOrEmpty(newBindingContext.ModelName))
+            // Only perform validation at the root of the object graph. ValidationNode will recursively walk the graph.
+            // Ignore ComplexModelDto since it essentially wraps the primary object.
+            if (newBindingContext.ModelMetadata.ContainerType == null && 
+                newBindingContext.ModelMetadata.ModelType != typeof(ComplexModelDto))
             {
-                newBindingContext.ValidationNode = new ModelValidationNode(newBindingContext.ModelMetadata, bindingContext.ModelName);
+                // run validation and return the model
+                // If we fell back to an empty prefix above and are dealing with simple types,
+                // propagate the non-blank model name through for user clarity in validation errors.
+                // Complex types will reveal their individual properties as model names and do not require this.
+                if (!newBindingContext.ModelMetadata.IsComplexType && string.IsNullOrEmpty(newBindingContext.ModelName))
+                {
+                    newBindingContext.ValidationNode = new ModelValidationNode(newBindingContext.ModelMetadata, 
+                                                                               bindingContext.ModelName);
+                }
+
+                var validationContext = new ModelValidationContext(bindingContext.MetadataProvider,
+                                                                   bindingContext.ValidatorProviders,
+                                                                   bindingContext.ModelState,
+                                                                   bindingContext.ModelMetadata,
+                                                                   containerMetadata: null);
+
+                newBindingContext.ValidationNode.Validate(validationContext, parentNode: null);
             }
-
-            var validationContext = new ModelValidationContext(bindingContext.MetadataProvider, 
-                                                               bindingContext.ValidatorProviders, 
-                                                               bindingContext.ModelState, 
-                                                               bindingContext.ModelMetadata, 
-                                                               containerMetadata: null);
-
-            newBindingContext.ValidationNode.Validate(validationContext, parentNode: null);
+                
             bindingContext.Model = newBindingContext.Model;
             return true;
         }
diff --git a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding/Validation/DataAnnotationsModelValidator.cs b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding/Validation/DataAnnotationsModelValidator.cs
index f062098af4..0ff4fb23ec 100644
--- a/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding/Validation/DataAnnotationsModelValidator.cs
+++ b/src/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding/Validation/DataAnnotationsModelValidator.cs
@@ -40,8 +40,9 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding
         {
             var metadata = validationContext.ModelMetadata;
             var memberName = metadata.PropertyName ?? metadata.ModelType.Name;
-            var instance = metadata.Model ?? validationContext.ContainerMetadata.Model;
-            var context = new ValidationContext(instance)
+            var containerMetadata = validationContext.ContainerMetadata;
+            var container = containerMetadata != null ? containerMetadata.Model : null;
+            var context = new ValidationContext(container ?? metadata.Model)
             {
                 DisplayName = metadata.GetDisplayName(),
                 MemberName = memberName
diff --git a/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding.Test/Binders/CompositeModelBinderTest.cs b/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding.Test/Binders/CompositeModelBinderTest.cs
index 5c3179f3dc..2ddddf69b2 100644
--- a/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding.Test/Binders/CompositeModelBinderTest.cs
+++ b/test/Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding.Test/Binders/CompositeModelBinderTest.cs
@@ -18,6 +18,7 @@
 #if NET45
 using System;
 using System.Collections.Generic;
+using System.ComponentModel.DataAnnotations;
 using System.Linq;
 using System.Threading.Tasks;
 using Microsoft.Framework.DependencyInjection;
@@ -234,10 +235,56 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding.Test
             Assert.Equal("name", model.Friends[1].LastName);
         }
 
+        [Fact]
+        public async Task BindModel_WithDefaultValidators_ValidatesSubProperties()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var validatorProvider = new DataAnnotationsModelValidatorProvider();
+            var binder = CreateBinderWithDefaults();
+            var valueProvider = new SimpleHttpValueProvider
+            {
+                { "user.password", "password-val" },
+                { "user.confirmpassword", "not-password-val" },
+            };
+            var bindingContext = CreateBindingContext(binder, valueProvider, typeof(User), new[] { validatorProvider });
+            bindingContext.ModelName = "user";
+
+            // Act
+            var isBound = await binder.BindModelAsync(bindingContext);
+
+            // Assert
+            var error = Assert.Single(bindingContext.ModelState["user.confirmpassword"].Errors);
+            Assert.Equal("'ConfirmPassword' and 'Password' do not match.", error.ErrorMessage);
+        }
+
+        [Fact]
+        public async Task BindModel_WithDefaultValidators_ValidatesInstance()
+        {
+            // Arrange
+            var validatorProvider = new DataAnnotationsModelValidatorProvider();
+            var binder = CreateBinderWithDefaults();
+            var valueProvider = new SimpleHttpValueProvider
+            {
+                { "user.password", "password" },
+                { "user.confirmpassword", "password" },
+            };
+            var bindingContext = CreateBindingContext(binder, valueProvider, typeof(User), new[] { validatorProvider });
+            bindingContext.ModelName = "user";
+
+            // Act
+            var isBound = await binder.BindModelAsync(bindingContext);
+
+            // Assert
+            var error = Assert.Single(bindingContext.ModelState["user"].Errors);
+            Assert.Equal("Password does not meet complexity requirements.", error.ErrorMessage);
+        }
+
         private static ModelBindingContext CreateBindingContext(IModelBinder binder,
                                                                 IValueProvider valueProvider,
-                                                                Type type)
+                                                                Type type,
+                                                                IEnumerable<IModelValidatorProvider> validatorProviders = null)
         {
+            validatorProviders = validatorProviders ?? Enumerable.Empty<IModelValidatorProvider>();
             var metadataProvider = new DataAnnotationsModelMetadataProvider();
             var bindingContext = new ModelBindingContext
             {
@@ -247,7 +294,7 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding.Test
                 ModelMetadata = metadataProvider.GetMetadataForType(null, type),
                 ModelState = new ModelStateDictionary(),
                 ValueProvider = valueProvider,
-                ValidatorProviders = Enumerable.Empty<IModelValidatorProvider>()
+                ValidatorProviders = validatorProviders
             };
             return bindingContext;
         }
@@ -287,6 +334,22 @@ namespace Microsoft.AspNet.Mvc.ModelBinding.Test
 
             public List<Person> Friends { get; set; }
         }
+
+        private class User : IValidatableObject
+        {
+            public string Password { get; set; }
+
+            [Compare("Password")]
+            public string ConfirmPassword { get; set; }
+
+            public IEnumerable<ValidationResult> Validate(ValidationContext validationContext)
+            {
+                if (Password == "password")
+                {
+                    yield return new ValidationResult("Password does not meet complexity requirements.");
+                }
+            }
+        }
     }
 }
 #endif