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Vanguard Review
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Vanguard brokerage review »
Vanguard Pros
Commission-free trading. Vanguard charges zero trading fees on some (but not all) securities transactions.
Excellent portfolio management service. Vanguard stands out among modern brokerage firms, especially for large accounts.
Vanguard's own lineup of funds. These funds always have no load and no transaction fee when bought or sold on Vanguard’s platform.
Vanguard Cons
Customer service could be improved. Vanguard’s support isn’t as good as what other brokers provide.
Basic trading tools. Vanguard emphasizes long-term investing, which shows in its simple software.
No banking tools. Vanguard removed banking services, leaving customers with fewer choices.
Investment Vehicles
Vanguard prioritizes fund trading rather than short-term or specialized products. This includes mutual funds and exchange-traded funds from Vanguard and other providers, plus closed-end funds.
It also offers stocks, options, and fixed-income securities, like unit investment trusts, commercial paper, CDs, and mortgage-backed securities.
However, Vanguard does not support several other products such as precious metals, forex, contracts for difference, futures, options on futures, warrants, global stocks, and
cryptocurrencies.
Account Types
Vanguard has multiple account types, though some include fees not commonly seen at other firms. These include individual, joint, and trust accounts, in both cash and margin versions.
For retirement, there are Roth, traditional, SEP, and SIMPLE IRAs, plus variable annuities and solo 401(k)s. For education, investors can use UGMA/UTMA accounts and 529 plans (run by Nevada).
The regular brokerage account has a $20 yearly fee, avoidable by going paperless. SIMPLE IRAs have a $25 charge per Vanguard fund, which can be waived in certain conditions.
SEP IRAs have a $20 fee per fund under $10,000, also waiveable in some cases. The individual 401(k) at Vanguard has similar fund-based charges.
Vanguard does not provide inherited IRAs, custodial accounts, investment club accounts, Health Savings Accounts, ABLE accounts, estate accounts, or Coverdell Education Savings Accounts.
Portfolio Management
If you’re not comfortable making your own trades, you can hire Vanguard’s professional managers. Fees start at 0.30% and go down to 0.05% once you reach $25 million.
You can speak with an advisor by phone, chat, or video chat.
Downsides include a lack of physical branches, no robo-advisor service, and a high minimum balance requirement.
Vanguard Bonus Offer Disclaimer
Current Vanguard promotion/bonus offer details to open a new account could change at any time without notice.
Updated on 7/1/2025.
Arthur Chachuna is a professional personal finance blogger, and the owner of Brokerage-Review.com.
He has been an avid investor for 25 years, and has a background in both applied math and programming.
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