What are your views on Salim Ramji former exec at Black Rock becoming CEO of Vanguard. should we be concerned?

[jebmke]

But I agree it's best to keep ESG out of the discussion. Political discussion isn't allowed on this forum, and ESG is extremely political.

he said after discussing ESG and DEI, lol

 

[jollystomper]

I will just wait and see. I have basic accounts and very simple usage at Vanguard. Everything I need to do I can do online, so as long at that process does not change I doubt anything will impact us.

 

[dmpi]

ESG is all about chasing massive public sector retirement funds. This kind of politics should have no place in investing. Hopefully it's just a fad that has passed and we can get on to the real work.

 

[Harris4crna]

I look forward to the new regime with the new CEO. Hope he brings innovation with a look to the future for generations to come. BR has made great strides in disruption, and truly hope it wears off on Vanguard. Look forward to see what is next for the big V.

 

[F.I.R.E User]

Doesn’t matter. As long as my portfolio is doing great. VTSAX and chill.

 

[Texas Proud]

I do not have a link but I read an opinion article saying how Vanguard is now nickel and dimeing their customers.... and that Bogle would not like what is happening... that the charges are gong to hit 'grandma'...

I doubt that it is going to get any better...

 

[jebmke]

I do not have a link but I read an opinion article saying how Vanguard is now nickel and dimeing their customers.... and that Bogle would not like what is happening... that the charges are gong to hit 'grandma'...

I doubt that it is going to get any better...

Fund ERs were significantly higher in Bogle's day right?

 

[Texas Proud]

Fund ERs were significantly higher in Bogle's day right?

Oh yea, much higher... and with a load up to 7.5%....

He was the king of low cost index investing... Vanguard pioneered indexing and low costs... they used to have great service also... I was happy to have the vast majority of my funds in Vanguard for over 35 years... and recommended them to SOOO many people that I should have gotten a commission (lol)... and I still have a big chunk there...

But, things have moved on and now all the major brokerages are low cost and some even lower than Vanguard... and with better service than Vanguard... If somebody asks me today I recommend Fidelity or Schwab...

 

[jebmke]

Oh yea, much higher... and with a load up to 7.5%....

He was the king of low cost index investing... Vanguard pioneered indexing and low costs... they used to have great service also... I was happy to have the vast majority of my funds in Vanguard for over 35 years... and recommended them to SOOO many people that I should have gotten a commission (lol)... and I still have a big chunk there...

But, things have moved on and now all the major brokerages are low cost and some even lower than Vanguard... and with better service than Vanguard... If somebody asks me today I recommend Fidelity or Schwab...

Fidelity would be on my short list if I moved also. I noted today a post on BH by someone who states that Fidelity will not allow a POA holder to transfer money out using their website. I don't know if that extends to having funds transferred out to an account in the name of the person for whom POA is being exercised. That might be a deal-breaker for me. If I ever get close to considering a move I will start a thorough due diligence.

 

[Gumby]

I will just wait and see. I have basic accounts and very simple usage at Vanguard. Everything I need to do I can do online, so as long at that process does not change I doubt anything will impact us.

Me, too. If you need more services/handholding, why shouldn't you expect to pay more? Why should those of us with basic accounts and simple needs have to subsidize you? And if you're leaving Vanguard to go elsewhere, why should those of us not leaving have to pay the costs of transferring your account?

 

[NeilDH]

I agree that Vanguard works great for our basic, individual investing, or even not so basic. The website works well. Same with Schwab. I’ve worked with both to manage nonprofits’ investments. When anything got complicated, Vanguard was hit or miss in customer service and ability to do what I asked. It’s brutal to work with them over the phone in recent years. And of course, that’s the only way you can speak to them. Schwab has offices (as does Fidelity); that’s such a customer service advantage. Now I’ve had my troubles with Schwab, too, but most of my personal stuff is with them now (especially after the merger with TD Ameritrade). Vanguard needs to catch up on customer service, whether that’s with offices or not, so that should be a CEO priority. (I still do have some Vanguard index and target funds — through Schwab .)

 

[Texas Proud]

Fidelity would be on my short list if I moved also. I noted today a post on BH by someone who states that Fidelity will not allow a POA holder to transfer money out using their website. I don't know if that extends to having funds transferred out to an account in the name of the person for whom POA is being exercised. That might be a deal-breaker for me. If I ever get close to considering a move I will start a thorough due diligence.

I do not have an experience with an POA but my mom had an account there and the first thing you needed to do was to open an account in your name. For me that meant my siblings had to open theirs also. They moved the money into the individual account and then you could move it. A couple of my siblings did move it out.

 

[Texas Proud]

Me, too. If you need more services/handholding, why shouldn't you expect to pay more? Why should those of us with basic accounts and simple needs have to subsidize you? And if you're leaving Vanguard to go elsewhere, why should those of us not leaving have to pay the costs of transferring your account?

Well, let's see... it is industry practice to do these without charges... why would it cost more money for Vanguard to do these things that others are doing for free? And they are for profit entities and think that providing them for free is a good thing.

 

[Gumby]

Well, let's see... it is industry practice to do these without charges... why would it cost more money for Vanguard to do these things that others are doing for free? And they are for profit entities and think that providing them for free is a good thing.

Vanguard is owned by its customers, like me. I don't want to pay even my infinitesimal share for them to coddle you.

 

[jebmke]

Well, let's see... it is industry practice to do these without charges... why would it cost more money for Vanguard to do these things that others are doing for free? And they are for profit entities and think that providing them for free is a good thing.

They generate other revenue elsewhere in their business that perhaps VG does not.

Some of the fees (e.g. holding assets on their old mutual fund platform) is less about recovering costs than it is about encouraging people to get off the legacy platform so they can minimize internal processes. Maintaining duplicate and especially old internal systems is very expensive.

 

[ER Eddie]

he said after discussing ESG and DEI, lol

Yeah, I know, but I wanted to answer a question posed earlier and left hanging. You cannot talk intelligently about ESG without it becoming political, because ESG is extremely political. (but I'll stop now, lol)

 

[Koolau]

Article on the evolution of Vanguard Vanguard 'nickel-and-dimes Grandma' after 49 years without junk fees

I suppose the concept of nickel-and-diming is in the eye of the beholder. No one likes to pay fees for anything, but the examples of the "nickel and dime" in the piece seem pretty reasonable to me. The piece suggests that Vanguard could "absorb" those costs - but that really means that those who don't consume the extra phone time or who do meet the investment minimums pay extra for those who don't comply with the limits set by Vanguard. If the fees were excessive or truly burdensome, I guess I could see the complaint, but, realistically, it's not that much extra for the extra service. As far as the $100 for exiting - I'm sure most of the other big Houses will cover that for anyone willing to transfer their funds.

I think it comes down to perceived value. Does Vanguard meet your needs at a price you're willing to pay? If not - go elsewhere. But if you consume extra service, be willing to pay a reasonable price for it. As always, YMMV.

 

[Texas Proud]

I find it interesting that people are saying they do not want to pay for things that other people are doing no matter how small... but you do it every day in probably all transactions...

You pay for cell phone... I am sure that some use the system much more than others... but the price is the same for unlimited talk and text... when you buy from a big box store you are paying for the people who return their items (there is a cost to that)... even eating out you pay for the people who complain about their food or service and get a free item or a discount on their meal...

The cost of closing an account is probably not even close to $20... why charge $100? And how many accounts are they closing anyhow? Also, why are they not charging for NEW accounts... you are paying for them to spend time opening new accounts... heck, why not charge for every transaction no matter what it is.?

Yep, nickel and diming....

 

[Koolau]

The good news is that we DO have some choices. If nickel and diming make you crazy, you can pick the least nickel-and-dime organization. YMMV

 

[Badger]

All I care about is their index funds. If he raises expense ratios a basis point or two to fund better customer service, that’s ok too.

We only have tIRAs and Roth IRAs (Wellington, Wellsley, and MM funds for dividends) at Vanguard. We don't plan to make any changes at our age so I am not concerned. Eventually it will all be inherited so I hope to convince our 2 grown children (61 and 56) to leave it alone and only harvest the RMDs as it is set up and they will be set for retirement along with their SS. Neither of them is knowledgeable about investing so I hope they listen. I don't think the new CEO will have much of an impact for us or them. If it ever becomes a problem then I will be recommending that they move them from MFs to index funds.