Vanguard financial advisors: what are the pros and cons?
Find out more about who Vanguard is, what they do, and what kind of service offerings they have in the field of investment planning and financial advice.
Summary
Vanguard is an online brokerage and investment management company based in the US.
This firm was established in 1975 and now has about $7.7 trillion in global assets.
Their main areas of expertise include passive investment strategies and low-risk trading.
Vanguard: who are they?
The US is home to some of the finest brokerages and financial advisory firms in the world, one of which is Vanguard.
Vanguard is an online brokerage that specializes in slow-and-steady buy-and-hold investment strategies. They also offer a comprehensive ETF trading program with low commission fees, which makes them an attractive financial advisory firm for new or low-risk-tolerant investors.
Having been in the financial services industry for over 50 years, Vanguard’s financial advisors have developed a reputation for being a reliable and trustworthy source of financial guidance.
Assets Under Management:
$7.7 trillion
Fee:
0.05%-0.3%
Fee Structure:
Fee-based
Minimum Account Sizes:
$50,000
What does Vanguard do?
Vanguard’s services focus on providing financial advice and services to clients. Their main areas of expertise include passive investment strategies and low-risk trading systems.
The principles that Vanguard is guided by include cost-effectiveness, clear goal-setting, balance, consistency, and helping clients reach both their long-term and short-term financial goals.
What are the pros and cons of Vanguard?
Vanguard is known for being a trustworthy financial advisory firm for investors who prefer consistent, reliable buy-and-hold investment strategies. But if you’re looking for a brokerage that offers stronger active services, you may want to look elsewhere for support.
Here are the pros and cons of Vanguard:
Pros:
Outstanding educational resources
Low expense ratio for cash sweep market funds
Very low expense ratios for clients with more than $3,000 in funds
Wide variety of low-cost Vanguard and other mutual fund varieties to choose from
Cons:
Comparatively high minimum investment requirements for most fund options
Slow account-opening process
The contract options fee is higher than average
No trading platform is available for active traders
Vanguard: financial services
While certain trade trends, such as cryptocurrency and forex trading, are missing from Vanguard’s service offering lineup, the list of services they do provide is still considered extensive by most standards.
Take a look at what they offer:
Stocks
Mutual funds
Bonds
ETFs
International markets
Penny stocks
Advisory services
Vanguard’s advisor services focus on cash investment options and money market management strategies for people who need advice navigating them – whether it’s for first-time investors or those with more experience who simply need assistance in balancing it all with their other portfolio responsibilities.
Vanguard: fees
Vanguard’s fees were recently adjusted to include commission-based payments.
| Your AUM with Vanguard | Online Trade Fee | Phone Trade Fee |
|---|---|---|
| Less than $1 million | $20 per trade | Online rate + $25 broker-assisted fee |
| $1 million to $5 million | $0 for the first 25 trades, $8 per trade thereafter | $0 for the first 25 trades, $8 per trade thereafter |
| $5 million+ | $0 for the first 100 trades, $8 per trade thereafter | $0 for the first 100 trades, $8 per trade thereafter |
Vanguard: technology
Vanguard’s relationship with technology is efficient but relatively basic.
While you won’t find them offering complex graphs, charts, or sleek UX web design, their online platform is functional and effective, allowing a wide age range and demographic of people to use it with ease.
Vanguard technology does feature a mobile app for clients to track account balances and portfolio overviews, but it doesn’t perform many additional or particularly innovative features.
Vanguard security: is it secure?
Like most online brokerages, Vanguard’s security meets industry standards in order to keep client’s data safe.
To access personal information, clients must answer a variety of security questions. Data is also protected by 128-bit encryption, multi-factor authentication, and a number of firewalls.
Vanguard: customer service
Vanguard’s customer service system is old-school and relationship-focused. Clients can contact customer support between 8 am and 8 pm from Monday to Friday, and there are no live chat or email support resources available.
However, the phone-in call system for customer service is reputed to be sufficiently helpful and effective for clients across the board.
Reviews of Vanguard from users
We’ve pulled some positive and negative reviews of Vanguard from forums such as Reddit and Boglehead, which we think give you a fair indication of how these platforms work and what people think of them.
Positive
“They reviewed everything, developed a plan, implemented it, and now meet with the advisor a couple of times a year. If a questions rises they are available to discuss.”
“You get a dedicated PAS advisor if you invest more than $500K with them, others get team advise. Your advisor will get to know you personally and your situation.”
Negative
“I don't know, but I do read from time to time that one cannot get a timely return phone call from a Vanguard advisor.”
Source: Bogleheads
These reviews suggest Vanguard offers a personalized and comprehensive financial planning experience, as the company is often praised for its thorough review process, planning, and ongoing support.
However, there are concerns about Vanguard’s responsiveness, with some clients experiencing delays in getting return phone calls.
While clients appreciate advisors' availability to discuss arising questions, they may need to improve their responsiveness to communication.
Seek expert financial advice
Vanguard’s advisor services are some of the most trusted in the US. With its reputation for developing robust buy-and-hold investment strategies and supporting a wide range of other financial service offerings, it’s no surprise that Vanguard remains a major player in the financial industry.
If you’re looking for a financial advisor so that you can learn more about finances and get expert advice, Unbiased can help. Get matched with an SEC-regulated financial advisor who is best suited to your needs now.
Frequently asked questions
Writers
Our team of writers, who have decades of experience writing about personal finance, including investing and retirement, are here to help you find out what you must know about life’s biggest financial decisions.