[SteveR]

The banks could fail, the market could tank for 8 years, your house could burn down...etc.

Having all your eggs in one huge basket (Vanguard or others of the same ilk) should not cause concern. Having all your eggs in equities or just bonds or porkbelly futures would be more of an issue than the long term viability of Vanguard.

I have had 5 different brokerages over the past 20+ years. Some were bought out some merged and some are the same as they were years ago. My assets did not suffer because of any changes in ownership since I still owned the assets.

If you are concerned about ID theft then make your ID harder to steal. Make all passwords complex enough to make them virtually unbreakable (more than 8 characters and use symbols, caps. and lower case). The other thing is get away from paper statements. Don't leave paper in the mailbox or trashcan to leave a ID trail for someone to pick up. Password protect your computer. Don't let passwords be copied to Windows...they can be found. Clean out your cookies and other internet files weekly. Change your passwords frequently and keep them complex.

The internet is actually safer than the mail system. You just have to use good password protection and good secure data sites for your transactions. I have been using the internet in one form or another for decades and have not had a single problem that I did not myself create.

Don't worry about Vanguard. I have about 1/3 of my portfolio there and about 3/4 of my 85 year old mother's. I have no paper files sent to me or to her. Everything is electronic over secured webpages. I use data encryption on my internet connection and I don't use public gateways for sensitive information.

Smile...be happy...you have money to worry about.