Acorns vs. Vanguard and Schwab: Highlights
• Acorns, Vanguard, and Schwab offer investment-advisory accounts. Schwab and Vanguard also have brokerage accounts.
• Banking tools are available at Schwab and Acorns but not at Vanguard.
• Schwab has the best trading software of the three.
Acorns vs. Vanguard and Schwab Introduction
Are you looking for a brokerage firm to help you invest and manage your money at the same time? If so, Acorns, Vanguard, and Schwab are worth a look.
Cost
Broker Fees |
Stock/ETF Commission |
Mutual Fund Commission |
Options Commission |
Maintenance Fee |
Annual IRA Fee |
Charles Schwab
|
$0
|
$49.95 ($0 to sell)
|
$0.65 per contract
|
$0
|
$0
|
Vanguard
|
$0
|
$20
|
$1.00 per contract
|
$20*
|
$20*
|
Acorns
|
na
|
na
|
na
|
$3, $5, or $9 per month
|
$3, $5, or $9 per month
|
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Acorns:
Get $20 when you open an Acorns account with this referral link.
Vanguard: none.
Investing Services
A managed account, also known as an advisory account, can be opened at Acorns, Schwab, or Vanguard. Acorns offers robo accounts only, while the other two firms offer both automated and traditional management.
In return for its investment advice, each firm charges a recurring fee. Acorns customers pay a flat monthly fee of $3, $5, or $9. Schwab’s robo service is free, while its human-managed accounts cost less than 1% per annum. Vanguard charges 0.35% for its robo program, while other plans have different prices. Minimums vary at Vanguard and Schwab. Acorns has no minimum.
Transitioning to self-directed investing, we lose Acorns altogether, but Schwab and Vanguard stay in the game. They offer trading in equities, options, mutual funds, ETFs, closed-end funds, and bonds. Schwab, but not Vanguard, offers trading in forex, OTC stocks, foreign equities, and futures contracts.
Every investment has to be held in some type of account, and all three firms in this comparison offer multiple tax shelters, including custodial accounts and IRAs. Schwab and Vanguard, but not Acorns, has 529 accounts, trusts, and 401k plans.
Winner: Schwab
Banking Services
Vanguard has discontinued its cash-management service, but Acorns and Schwab do not stop with investing. At either firm, it’s possible to get a debit card with FDIC insurance and ATM fee refunds. Acorns has a network of around 55,000 machines, while Schwab extends its refund policy to every ATM in the world.
Acorns’ service is a checking account that has no overdraft fees but does have real-time round ups,
early payday, an emergency fund, and free fractional shares of stock for shopping with participating
companies. Acorns’ regular checking account pays 3% APY
right now, while the special emergency fund pays
4.85% APY. These yields assume a monthly fee of at least $3. Schwab has lower yields on both checking and savings accounts but charges no monthly fee for its bank products.
Winner: Schwab
Margin Accounts
Because Acorns is a robo-only firm, it does not offer any trading on leverage. The other two firms do
offer margin capability in brokerage accounts. Schwab’s website, but not Vanguard’s, shows the
maintenance requirement for an entered ticker symbol. Both firms have margin schedules between
13.25% and 11.25%, and both firms offer negotiated rates for clients who surpass $500,000 in loan balances.
Winner: Schwab
Customer Service
It goes without saying that to back up all of these financial services, the three companies in this faceoff do need to deliver some level of customer support. Acorns provides service over the phone and through its website. Vanguard is mostly a phone-only company, while Schwab has multiple service channels. Its website and mobile app both have an identical virtual chat bot that does a pretty good job of answering most questions, and it’s possible to bring a human rep on board if needed.
Where Schwab really comes through is in its branch network. The financial conglomerate has hundreds of offices located throughout the United States, and these are a good opportunity for some old-school service. And for the weekenders and night owls out there, there is 24/7 phone support, which is completely absent at Vanguard and Acorns.
Winner: Schwab
Mobile Apps
Mobile apps are available at all three firms, and in fact, Schwab has two apps. One is a regular app, and another is called thinkorswim. This second app is a trading app on steroids. It has tons of charting tools and an advanced trade ticket with the ability to submit orders at pre-defined times. The regular app has lots of market news and mobile check deposit.
Acorns has one app, and it does not have mobile check deposit or much market news, although it does have quite a few educational materials. Because Acorns is a robo-only firm, there are no trading tools or charts for securities. There are links to other parts of the company, including the checking accounts mentioned above.
Vanguard has one simple app, and we do want to put emphasis on simple. There aren’t a lot of powerful trading tools on the platform, although there is a trade form with discrete choices for buy to cover and shell short. Charting, though, is very rudimentary.
Winner: Schwab
Websites
The simplest website in this three-way contest will be found at Acorns.com. Because the firm has no self-directed accounts, there are no trading tools to comment on. We did find a shopping center to earn bonuses from participating retailers, and there are lots of other perks posted from other areas of the company, such as GoHenry by Acorns (a debit card for kids).
Vanguard’s site brings the experience to a somewhat higher level with actual charting and trading tools. The broker’s software incorporates some useful graphing tools like company events, and the order ticket delivers 4 trade types.
On Schwab’s website, we found an actual trade platform called thinkorswim. It has 7 trade types, and even more will be found on the website proper. Unlike the Vanguard site, Schwab’s site is easy to navigate, although the experience remains on a very high level, thanks to lots of great analysis tools.
Winner: Schwab
Desktop Software
To complete the trading picture, Schwab, and only Schwab, delivers a desktop program. It bears the thinkorswim name and provides a very professional experience with all sorts of advanced tools. Despite this focus, there is no charge to use the platform. We recommend starting with paperMoney, a simulated mode.
Winner: Schwab
Find a Financial Advisor
If you are looking for a professional money management service in your area, you can
find a Financial Advisor on the Wiser Advisor
(or read
Wiser Advisor review).
Visit Wiser Advisor
Additional Services
Individual Retirement Accounts: SEP, Traditional, and Roth accounts are available at all three firms in this contest. Vanguard and Schwab have SIMPLE accounts; Schwab has the Custodial IRA.
Fully-Paid Lending Income Program: Only at Vanguard and Schwab.
Extended Hours: Vanguard has a post-market trading session, while Schwab has post-market, pre-market, and overnight trading.
Dividend Reinvestment Plans: It’s possible to automatically reinvest dividends at all three firms.
Autopilot Mutual Fund Purchases: Possible at Vanguard and Schwab (the former restricts its service to Vanguard funds only).
IPOs: Schwab customers can buy stock shares before they begin trading on the secondary market.
Fractional Shares: Neither Vanguard nor Schwab offer fractional shares of ETFs in their robo accounts. Acorns does. In self-directed accounts at Schwab, the S&P 500 stocks can be purchased in whole dollars. Vanguard offers the same service for Vanguard ETFs.
Winner: Schwab
Promotions
Charles Schwab: $0 commissions + satisfaction guarantee at Charles Schwab.
Acorns:
Get $20 when you open an Acorns account with this referral link.
Vanguard: none.
Our Recommendations
Small Accounts: Acorns only requires $5 to begin automated investing, which is much lower than Schwab’s and Vanguard’s minimums. However, the flat monthly fee makes it a poor value for small accounts. Self-directed taxable accounts at Vanguard and Schwab have no minimums and no fees, although Vanguard requires electronic delivery of statements, and its business IRAs have fees in some situations.
Long-Term Investors & Retirement Savers: Schwab has the largest number of resources.
Mutual Funds: Schwab has fewer mutual funds than Vanguard, although Schwab has better fund resources.
Active Stock and ETF Trading: We would choose Schwab and use the thinkorswim mobile app or desktop platform.
Beginning Investors: We suggest an investment-advisory account with any of the three firms in this survey (preferably one at Schwab or Vanguard with a human financial planner).
Acorns vs Vanguard and Schwab Outcome
Although Vanguard and Acorns do have some good services in some areas, Schwab is clearly the winner of this contest by a large margin.
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Updated on 10/4/2024.
Chad Morris is a financial writer with more than 20 years experience
as both an English teacher and an avid trader. When he isn’t writing
expert content for Brokerage-Review.com, Chad can usually be found
managing his portfolio or building a new home computer.
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