Need Vanguard Educated, Please.

[bja1234]

I would like to switch our stuff to Vanguard. I am hesitant because there are no offices I can visit for direct help should the need occur. Also, my understanding is Vanguard's customer service is sometimes lacking. Is there a place I can get some coaching and or reading materials/how to? I need to change in the next 3 months for a reason I choose not to disclose. I prefer Vanguard because of cost. I currently feel lost. Thanks

 

[travelover]

Fidelity has funds as cheap or cheaper than Vanguard and they have brick and mortar locations. I'd recommend that you give them a try.

 

[mystang52]

Fidelity has funds as cheap or cheaper than Vanguard and they have brick and mortar locations. I'd recommend that you give them a try.

If brick and mortar is important, Fidelity has a great reputation and I'm sure you won't go wrong with them. But FWIW I'm a happy Vanguard customer, they were incredibly helpful to me when I ultimately made the decision to go with them, and have always been pleased with their assistance by telephone.

 

[jazz4cash]

Call Vanguard directly and ask for guidance on the specific actions you want to take. You can always come back here or the Bogleheads forum to discuss the conversation before you act. If you are not comfortable with Vanguard customer service you should consider Fidelity or Schwab.

 

[bingybear]

Call Vanguard directly and ask for guidance on the specific actions you want to take. You can always come back here or the Bogleheads forum to discuss the conversation before you act. If you are not comfortable with Vanguard customer service you should consider Fidelity or Schwab.

2nd this. Be careful in your haste. Don't do something costly.

 

[RobbieB]

I've been with Fidelity for decades, no problem and lots of branches to visit.

I avoid Vanguard for the same reason, very few branches.

 

[target2019]

Schwab has offices. Need to look at the entire universe before jumping.

 

[samclem]

I would like to switch our stuff to Vanguard. I am hesitant because there are no offices I can visit for direct help should the need occur. Also, my understanding is Vanguard's customer service is sometimes lacking. Is there a place I can get some coaching and or reading materials/how to? I need to change in the next 3 months for a reason I choose not to disclose. I prefer Vanguard because of cost. I currently feel lost. Thanks

Vanguard helps thousands of people establish new accounts every year. You shouldn't feel any hesitation to give them a call and let them walk you through the process, it is not complicated.

If you want to talk to someone face-to-face, then you may be more comfortable with Fidelity or Schwab. You will have plenty of good low-cost options at any of these companies.

I have accounts with Fidelity and Vanguard. I have had no trouble with either place. I personally prefer Vanguard for several reasons, but Fidelity does have some funds that have costs even lower than Vanguard funds.

 

[Closet_Gamer]

+1 on Schwab. Been with them for 20 years. Never had a bad experience.

They've also driven their fees down to nearly nothing and have offices. Tho, their online and phone support is quite good.

The only time I've ever gone to an office is when I had very large live checks where I wanted to hand them to someone and walk away with a receipt in hand.

 

[easysurfer]

I've found Vanguard's website very informative. Only needed to call them a few times and each time found Vanguard helpful.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

Vanguard get's my vote, their MM is typically a little higher than Fidelity. No issues with phone support.

While having a hard office is great, I found out later not so much. I did open a Fidelity account last year but have never used it. I kept getting a lot of calls from their brokers and their staff when they found out how much money we had, and kept on about when I was going to move it over from Vanguard. The office is 30 miles away so not so convenient. I have not closed the account so it is sitting empty.

My computer and my phone are in my study.

 

[Midpack]

Vanguard helps thousands of people establish new accounts every year. You shouldn't feel any hesitation to give them a call and let them walk you through the process, it is not complicated.

If you want to talk to someone face-to-face, then you may be more comfortable with Fidelity or Schwab. You will have plenty of good low-cost options at any of these companies.

I have accounts with Fidelity and Vanguard. I have had no trouble with either place. I personally prefer Vanguard for several reasons, but Fidelity does have some funds that have costs even lower than Vanguard funds.

+1. Exactly what I’d say. I prefer Vanguard but I once had all our money with Fidelity and a sizeable 401k with Schwab. I’d be completely comfortable with any of the three.

I wouldn’t characterize Vanguard’s customer service as “sometimes lacking,” they just offer less hand holding, and none face to face.

Like others I was originally attracted to Fidelity about 25 years ago because of their brick-n-mortar locations, and I still held a lot of individual stocks. But as our holdings moved from stocks to mutual funds (Four Pillars), I moved our entire portfolio to Vanguard 14+ years ago because they had way more index funds and lower fees - Fidelity and Schwab have closed that gap, but not entirely.

I haven’t missed brick-n-mortar at all, I can do anything I’d ever want online or over the phone - and have for 14+ years.

 

[target2019]

We used Vanguard and Fidelity for 15-20 years. Since we had much less invested, there was not much reason to call and ask for support. After we used the UGM money at Fidelity, we became Vanguard centric. Recent past gives us about 7-10 years with Schwab and Vanguard. Online and phone support, Schwab is superior. But will stick with both, and use to our advantage.

Fidelity, Schwab, Vanguard - you can build with lowest cost investments at any. If I were forced to only use one, it would be Schwab or Fidelity. In the future, one of us will probably need advice, and face to face meetings are preferred.

 

[MRG]

I have no local offices and Fidelity's phone support sucks. Vanguard's is much superior as they regularly use the tools.

My last Fidelity "Private Client Representative" was a no good annuity salesman. When I complained to the branch manager he said I could call the 800 number.

 

[kevink]

IMHO it's worth looking carefully at what specifically you want from Vanguard. If you're going all-in on their mutual funds and making regular contributions to them then establishing an account there clearly makes sense. Otherwise their funds and ETFs can be purchased from many brokerages.

I personally am such a huge believer in what they stand for and the community (Bogleheads) that they've inspired that I'd probably have all of my investments with them if I thought it prudent, but owing to concerns about cyberattacks and such I split things between Vanguard and Schwab. I find Schwab's customer service to be exemplary - a cut above Vanguard's for sure - and having access to Schwab bank, which reimburses ATM fees worldwide, is wonderful for travel.

I don't see any benefit to having access to Schwab's brick-and-mortar offices unless one is very new to investing. Far more sophisticated advice can be had on the Bogleheads forums and reading a few books by frequent posters there such as William Bernstein, Larry Swedroe and Rick Ferri goes a long way towards making one a decent DIY investor. Just my preference - all of the firms mentioned above are excellent.

 

[RunningBum]

An advantage to a brick-and-mortar office is if there are forms you need a guaranteed signature for. I needed one last year to transfer some VG shares to my son's account and went to my Wells Fargo branch to get it. They said they needed to see an account statement to prove I had the shares I wanted to transfer. That sounds like total BS because VG wouldn't blindly transfer shares if I didn't have them there. I think they just wanted to see what I had, because I got a push to buy CDs at WF, which I quickly cut short. And as it turned out I had the wrong forms because VG has a different set for brokerage accounts vs the old ones, but at least the new forms can be confirmed with a voice recognition call so I didn't have to go back for another guarantee. But this headache could've been reduced by going into an office, and filling out the right form there.

Other than that I've never felt a need to go to a physical branch. I suppose if you have a big check it'd be safer than mailing it, and quicker than depositing it in your bank and then transferring it. It's been a long time since I've had a check, but maybe when transferring an IRA?

 

[24601NoMore]

I wouldn't worry about the account opening process at VG - it's very seamless and easy. You can/should be able to do most if not all of it online.

VG reps are in my experience pretty much equal to those at Fido, TD and others. No experience with Schwab. That said, a few things to consider..

If you want to have a good MM to hold liquid cash or deposit dividends into, VG Prime Money Market is usually the highest yielding..

If you want to buy Wellesley, Wellington or any of the other popular VG funds, you'll usually pay a (pretty hefty) transaction fee at Fido and other brokerages. You can (of course) buy and sell them with no TF at VG..

All that aside, if B&M is important..can't beat Fido or the others for that extra face to face interaction and hand holding..

 

[gwraigty]

We have accounts at Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard (husband's 401k). I can't recommend Vanguard, as I've found their customer service consistently lacking/incompetent. Either Fidelity or Schwab would be fine choices.

 

[Midpack]

We have accounts at Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard (husband's 401k). I can't recommend Vanguard, as I've found their customer service consistently lacking/incompetent.

How so? It might be more helpful if we had some examples.

 

[frayne]

I've had accounts with both for many years and never a problem with either. And who needs B&M storefronts these days ? Just an added cost of doing business.

 

[ShokWaveRider]

I have found Vanguards Customer service to be leaps and bounds better than Fidelity. We have moved a lot of money between banks and Vanguard, both qualified and unqualified moneys, they have always been there to help. We found fidelity's CS to be somewhat lacking. One of the reasons we chose to stick with VG. YMMV.

 

[gwraigty]

We have accounts at Fidelity, Schwab, and Vanguard (husband's 401k). I can't recommend Vanguard, as I've found their customer service consistently lacking/incompetent. Either Fidelity or Schwab would be fine choices.

How so? It might be more helpful if we had some examples.

Sorry, I've been trying to work on not explaining things to death unless asked, which has become a bad habit of mine. And since you've asked...

The issues started when a VBO option became available in his 401k. We made a mistake when trying to fund the VBO because there were no clear instructions on how to do it. He got several PDF booklets with written instructions on all kinds of VBO matters, but nothing that explicitly said how to fund it! There were no instructions on the website after he logged in to his 401k either. We did get it straightened out with a phone call, but it caused another month's delay in funding the VBO because of the fund trade restrictions.

After that, it got worse. My husband wanted to give me trading authority over the VBO, as he can't trade when he's at work. The written PDF instructions were wrong on this, as well as other matters. "Call this number..." We worked together on trying to get things properly set up, after he got home from work. We'd call the phone numbers as instructed, only to get people who didn't know what we were talking about. The VBO side said we'd have to call the 401k side. The 401k side said we'd need to call the VBO side. Round and round we'd go. Finally, we reached someone who appeared to understand the situation and I got trading authority.

I discovered, to my dismay, that Vanguard doesn't allow individual fixed income securities to be purchased online. No individual bonds. Not even CDs. This came as a shock, as I purchase these things online at Fidelity and Schwab all the time. Years ago, I purchased them through TDAmeritrade, so it's not like such a thing is something brand new. The only way to purchase individual fixed income securities at Vanguard is via phone. Yuck!

So, again, the phone number given by Vanguard in writing to do this, was wrong. It took multiple transfers to finally reach someone who could allow me to buy a fixed income security. Then they treated me like it was my fault for not being able to reach the right department in the first place!

This necessitated another joint phone call after my husband came home from work to find out exactly why I was getting such hassles trying to do this. Then we were given a different phone number to call which would put me directly to the department that had to put me through security first, before transferring me to the fixed income desk to finally make the purchase. Now, that shouldn't be too bad, should it?

But, they made it so. I'd get told that the whole process of verifying my identity would be simpler if I set up an online profile for myself. (IOW, I was inconveniencing them every time I needed to be put through security to make a trade, which they were getting a commission for, BTW.) I said that I didn't have an account with them. Only my husband did. They said it didn't matter. I could set up an online profile anyway. I was told this repeatedly, but of course, eventually I got someone who verified that the only way I could set up an online profile for myself was to actually have an account with them. Since I didn't, it was impossible for me to have an online profile. No kidding!

When things went without much hassle, it took about 15 minutes for me to purchase corporate bonds from one issuer! Contrast that with 15 seconds doing it online with Fidelity or Schwab. (At Fidelity, we each have POA and full trading authority on each other's Roth IRAs and can do anything needed online, with no hassles whatsoever.) I resigned myself to it. Until...

The last time I was put through security. The man sounded very insecure and uncertain. He asked me the usual questions. Then he asked me some more questions. All of which I answered flawlessly. There was nothing more I could do to prove that I am who I said I was and have authority to make the bond purchase. (Keep in mind that I was making purchases weekly for a few months to initially invest the allowed amount in the VBO.) So, after this guy took twice as long to put me through security, he transferred me to another guy who started putting me through the same security questions AGAIN! I answered them anyway and this guy finally transferred me to the fixed income desk. After I made my bond purchase, I complained about what I'd just had to endure, needlessly.

All purchases are made online now, just ETFs. When my husband leaves his employer, Vanguard is losing our business.

 

[RunningBum]

I find VG easy to deal with as a Flagship client. I just call or message my rep with what I want to do and he tracks down the right people or form, and sets an appointment with them if needed. If I wasn't Flagship I may think differently about their support. That might be one reason why some people find no problems with VG, and others have a lot of trouble.

 

[Midpack]

I find VG easy to deal with as a Flagship client. I just call or message my rep with what I want to do and he tracks down the right people or form, and sets an appointment with them if needed. If I wasn't Flagship I may think differently about their support. That might be one reason why some people find no problems with VG, and others have a lot of trouble.

Yeah, I haven't had any notable troubles with VG over my 14+ years with them, but I don't expect much. I know they won't provide the kind of service Fidelity or Schwab will, but I don't need that anymore.

However, I can well understand why gwraigty was

 

[HI Bill]

My only difficulty with VG was when I tried to obtain authority to access my wife's account. They wanted a notary public signature and two witnesses....I got the notary public signature before I noticed the two witness requirement. PITA...but they are rigid to protect people and assets. Which would you rather have, someone who provides access with few controls, or someone who lets an outsider clean out your accounts?