By Dr. James M. Dahle, WCI Founder
I've been a huge fan of Vanguard for as long as I've been financially literate. Even though I'm an ardent capitalist, I still love the mutual ownership of Vanguard (the only mutual mutual fund company). Since the funds own Vanguard and I own the funds, I'm the owner, albeit in a very tiny, very indirect way. That's not to say Vanguard has not had its problems. It certainly has. However, every few years someone trots out an article about how Vanguard has “lost its way.” The criticisms are almost always valid, but I don't see them quite as pessimistically as most.
Has Vanguard Lost Its Way?
The most recent article on this topic, from John Rekenthaler at Morningstar, is similar to other articles (and dozens of Boglehead Forum posts) on the topic. Like most, it idealized the founding of Vanguard as being all about St. Jack helping out the little guy. I like Jack Bogle as much as the next person, but it's important to read his own words about the founding of Vanguard. It wasn't ALL about helping out the little guy. You can get all the details in his 2018 “Stay the Course,” but the bottom line is that Bogle had worked for the conservative Wellington Fund from 1951 when he came out of college until he became the executive vice president in 1965. In 1966, he merged with the “ARK funds of the 1960s,” called Thorndike, Doran, Paine & Lewis. Bogle became CEO of the merged company. It subsequently collapsed in the early 1970s, Wellington lost 3/4 of its assets, and the stock price of Wellington Management Company plunged by more than 90%. Unsurprisingly, Bogle was fired.
Bogle was a smart dude, though. As far as I know, we only have Bogle's side of the story, but part of the founding of Vanguard involves a management dispute and some legal wrangling (shenanigans?) over this firing. Basically, the only way he could stay in control was to have the funds own the management company. So, he did that, and voilà, Vanguard was founded. Yes, that had the awesome side effect of a mutual mutual fund company. And this idea of an index fund had been percolating around in his head for a while too and was soon implemented. But knowing the REAL story certainly takes a little luster off of the legend. I'm sure the story would be even less flattering if it were told by some of the other people involved rather than Jack.
My point in sharing this is not to denigrate Jack or his subsequent work in any way, shape, or form. It's simply to lower your expectations from Vanguard. Jack was human. Vanguard is just a company. And it probably never would have existed at all if Jack had not had to scramble to keep his place in it.
Problems at Vanguard
Some people trot out various “evidences” from time to time that Vanguard has lost its way.
#1 Active Management
Perhaps the funniest is when people realize that Vanguard not only offers actively managed mutual funds but actually promotes them both to the general public and its advisory clients. The critics think this is some kind of a new thing. It's not. Remember Wellington? Yeah, it's still there (and has been since before The Great Depression):
So is Wellesley. And Windsor. And PrimeCap. Vanguard is coming out with new actively managed funds all the time. Some do well. Some do poorly. The ones that do poorly are eventually closed and merged and swept under the rug, just like at all the other actively managed mutual fund companies. They've had “hedge fund-like” strategies, factor-based strategies, quantitative funds, private equity funds, and multiple manager strategies. Even Jack Bogle owned plenty of shares of actively managed mutual funds. Expect this to continue in the future. But don't lose faith in Vanguard because of it. Vanguard was never an index fund-only shop.
#2 Vanguard Is No Longer the Low-Cost Leader
After a few decades, the trend away from active management and toward passive management became very clear. The other “good guy” large mutual fund/discount brokerage firms, including privately owned Fidelity and publicly owned Charles Schwab, had to jump on board or get left in the dust. So they did. They started offering index funds, too. The funds weren't as large, maybe weren't quite as well run, and weren't benefiting from the patented fund/ETF structure that Vanguard had. But they could at least compete on price. They first dropped their expense ratios to be in the same neighborhood as Vanguard, and then they went even lower than Vanguard. For a few funds, they even went to 0%.
The real competition turned out to be other companies that beat Vanguard into the ETF space such as BlackRock (iShares) and SSGA (SPDRS). Low cost, passively managed, and an ETF package . . . what's not to like? Sure, there were lots of scammers entrepreneurs out there trotting out their high-cost index funds and bribing their way into 401(k)s, and Fidelity and Schwab certainly have plenty of investment offerings that aren't so good for investors. However, the big four or five companies that actually offer reasonable low-cost passive investments eventually rose to the top. Now their offerings are all basically the same. Does that mean Vanguard lost its way? Of course not. It means it forced the industry to change. This is what winning looks like! Imitation is the most sincere form of flattery. Just be glad you have more options for your 401(k) or HSA or for tax-loss harvesting or whatever.
#3 Vanguard Customer Support
Bogleheads have been complaining about this for years, and it's not just anecdotal. Vanguard apparently used to pick up within three rings. Now, you might be on hold literally for hours (make sure that your cell phone is charged and you have something else to do when you call). You can have a bad customer service experience at Fidelity or Schwab, but it's less likely. The good news? With the ETF revolution, you don't have to use Vanguard. You can own funds built by Fidelity, Schwab, or BlackRock, and you can hold Vanguard funds (usually the ETF version) at Fidelity, Schwab, or any other brokerage your heart desires. Vanguard funds and top-notch customer service, what's not to like? Let's be honest, people go to Vanguard for the low price, not the customer service. That's not all that new in my opinion. Vanguard customer service wasn't awesome in 2005 when I moved money there, and it still isn't. Rekenthaler speculates:
“To be sure, outsiders cannot know if Vanguard’s customer-service woes have occurred because the company lacked the assets to pay for the necessary upgrades, or through mismanagement, or because of a calculated business decision. Some organizations have opted against answering their telephones for routine calls, figuring that the cost savings outweigh the reputational harm. (Try to reach somebody at Uber. I dare you.) Perhaps Vanguard is among that group.”
However, I think this is a case of chalking something up to malfeasance that is better explained by incompetence. This is simply growing pains. Vanguard is the third-largest mutual fund company in the world by assets under management (BlackRock and Charles Schwab are slightly ahead). BlackRock doesn't offer individual accounts like Vanguard. Vanguard got to that level very quickly. Scaling a business is a lot harder than it looks, especially when you're trying to run the business at cost. Schwab adopted a lot of what worked well at Vanguard. It's time for Vanguard to do the same!
#4 Offering Advice
Vanguard is also frequently criticized for offering advice, despite the fact that it does so at a 70% discount to the industry standard fee of 1% of Assets Under Management (AUM). My beef with the Vanguard advisory service isn't the price or even the fact that it now has some funds only available to its advisory clients. It's the fact that you simply cannot provide high-quality, personalized financial planning and investment management for 0.3% of a $100,000 portfolio. People have way too high expectations of what they should get for their $300 a year. What you get at Vanguard is to make sure you don't have a stupid portfolio and that your portfolio gets rebalanced periodically. Anything useful you get above and beyond that should be considered icing on the cake. This is a product for the masses designed to compete with the robo-advisors, not a serious contender for a real financial advisor.
Southern Utah mountain biking is never a debacle!
#5 Vanguard Target Retirement Funds Debacle
I have discussed the royal tax screw-up with the Vanguard Target Retirement Funds in detail elsewhere. I was not surprised to see the initiation of a class-action lawsuit about it. Those who held these funds in a taxable account (despite everyone I know advising against doing so) really paid an unexpected price for something Vanguard did. Whether knowingly or unknowingly, the pain was very real. Perhaps worse than the actual tax hit was the sense of betrayal by Vanguard, that it put institutional investors ahead of individual investors. I was as disappointed as anyone else, but again, I think this was probably better explained by incompetence rather than by malfeasance. I don't expect it to happen again, and even though I'll have to pay (as one of the owners of Vanguard) to defend against the lawsuit, it should be a good reminder to Vanguard execs about the importance of thinking about unforeseen consequences.
As of now, I have the following accounts at the following firms:
- Vanguard: Trust brokerage account, Roth IRAs for everyone in the family, four UTMAs, DAF (Vanguard Charitable)
- Fidelity: WCI 401(k), HSA, and a credit card
- Schwab: Partnership 401(k) and Cash Balance Plan
- Thrift Savings Plan: Military 401(k)
- Utah 529: Four 529s
- Various real estate companies: Numerous private funds and syndications
Obviously, I still invest at Vanguard, but I confess it probably has at least as much to do with inertia as low costs and appreciation for Jack Bogle and mutual ownership. However, I am well aware that there are many product lines that Vanguard does about the same as others or worse. It wouldn't break my heart to have to move everything over to Fidelity or Schwab. I'm not sure it would bother Vanguard either!
What do you think? Has Vanguard lost its way? Why or why not? Have you had any surprisingly bad or good experiences with Vanguard? Comment below!
I noticed a decrease a year or so after John died. I have a big enough account that I have an account manager w/ whom I can always make an appointment. I think they’re suffering from the same problem many companies are having: Getting and retaining good employees. I think the company’s so large now it’s hard for any one person to be knowledgeable about all areas of their business. But I have too much w/ them for too long; I think I’ll stay with them. And their new App is a disaster, IMHO.
I disagree that they just can’t find talent. Many call center staff I’ve waited 15-30 mins per call to get through to (after at least one dropped call per attempt) have told me that I’m preaching to the choir. Many of them have been previous Flagship advisors but were reluctantly re assigned to a call center in the new decentralized model. sometimes I waste 2-3 hours trying to get an answer to a problem (eg, why a 30k donation to a non-VG DAF was listed as FIFO when all my requests clearly stated SpecID. The loss of Flagship Advisors for 20+ year investors feels like a slap in the face, and I’m waiting for the WCI/Bogleheads post for DIYers on how to move a brokerage (and roth ira) out to schwab or fidelity without a huge taxable event. Perhaps could do it during the roth conversion years, if conversions still allowed in a few years? I’ve already stopped further investing in my brokerage account. Vanguard needs to reward the 2 decade loyal investors – instead of preying on em.
thanks, Miss (Doc) Moonshine Dance
You can do a full or partial transfer out w/o it being a taxable event as long as the new custodian can hold what you own at vanguard (i.e. are the ETF’s / mutual funds able to be purchased at the new brokerage).
As far as VG goes. Their website is ATROCIOUS. It literally is about a decade back from what Ameritrade or Fidelity offer. The customer service is much worse than them as well.
Its also AWEFUL for anyone who wants to buy stocks or options. Kind of like buy our VG branded products or nothing.
Too much mothering by VG on what I should be able to decide for myself.
that’s helpful. need to find out if i can hold taxable Vanguard VTSAX, VTI, VXF, VOO, VWO at schwab or fidelity.
Absolutely.
Just curious, did you end up figuring out why your donation to a non-VG DAF was listed as FIFO when all the requests clearly stated SpecID? I’m seeing the same issue and haven’t called them yet but am not super confident I’ll get a useful response without sinking a bunch of time.
wow, you have the same issue? guess it’s their default. i did get mine changed after repeat messages and calls. i don’t know how to do it efficiently
It’s not hard to move. Just contact Schwab/Fidelity and they’ll walk you through it and do 95% of the work for you. Probably give you hundreds of thousands to incentivize you to do it.
Call center employees must have a FINRA series 7 license. They need to find people willing to apply then pass a difficult exam.
Also, lots of competition for talent in the Philly, Charlotte, and Phoenix markets.
Great post! We are huge Vanguard fans, but it is difficult to easily call and talk to a real person.
Good luck on easily finding a phone number on their website. Vanguard does not want telephone interaction IMHO.
Do you know of any research into performance of DAF investment portfolios at Vanguard v. fidelity or Schwab? I’ve been disappointed with Schwab. TY. Rocky Mountains
How does one know to be disappointed at Schwab if you invest in their lowest cost funds? i don’t pay that much attention, holding most of what i plan to donate in the year in a money market, with the rest in their cheapest bond and stock fund
The underlying investments are what you choose and are generally the same investments available outside the DAF.
You can move your retirement accounts anywhere you like with no tax consequences. Just transfer from an IRA at the old place to an IRA at the new place. Roth to Roth, etc.
I never found Flagship to be worth anything. I think we still have it but I do not believe I have ever spoken with whoever my rep happened to be.
I am still happy with Vanguard. Prices are right and I think that a combination of better indexes and lower costs on top of expense ratios means the funds are still better than the Fidelity zeroes.
Somehow I have managed to opt out of all the advertising for their advisory service, which annoys so many people. Fidelity, on the other hand, keeps sending marketing spam that I have not been able to turn off. More annoyingly, they sometimes call me on the phone, which is incredibly irritating.
Back when advice was a flagship perk, I asked them several questions. The answers were so superficial and unprepared as to be useless. Would have been worse than useless had I actually acted on what they said. So I have lost nothing by no longer having free access. Needless to say, I would not pay anything for their advice and no one needs help to create and “manage” a 3 fund portfolio. Like almost everyone else, I do not need and advisor.
As Jim says, they have always offered active funds. There is a market for them, and for private equity for that matter. I may have no interest but some people want that stuff. No skin off my nose if Vanguard sells its customers what they want.
It is not a cult, it is an investment company. I am not looking for moral purity. I want certain services, done well, for low costs.
They offer well run, low overall cost, no gimmicks index funds. Just what I need and I don’t need anything else.
I have not had any service problems but I cannot think of when I had something for which service was required.
Given the website and difficulty with customer support, when you’re talking to residents or new attendings, do you suggest they start with Vangaurd or do you suggest Fidelity/Schwab?
As a huge lifelong Vanguard fan it pains me to say yes. I have had a number of friends try to set up a solo 401k for their moonlighting (1099) work at Vanguard and it has been disaster after disaster for them trying to get competent help on the phone or even over email.
Fidelity isn’t perfect but it’s orders of magnitude better than Vanguard when it comes to actually getting someone on the phone who knows what they are talking about.
I think any of them are fine. You can certainly do much worse than Vanguard. If someone asks me that question, I explain what this post explains.
excellent article doc, i have considered moving to charlie swab and fidelity due to bad customer service, but with a large taxable account, i will incur heavy tax cost if i move, vanguard know this and thus their customer service continue to lag.
You can transfer your assets in-kind and not incur a tax cost by moving.
i also have a high yield corporate bond fund at vanguard? what should i do with that fund?
I assume you mean VWEHX. I transferred my holdings in that fund in kind to Schwab over 20 years ago.
Does it have a loss? It might. In which case it would actually help you to sell!
You can transfer in kind. You might have to convert funds to ETFs, but there is no tax consequences to that either. You’re not stuck.
I remember Jim mentioning in his recent post that he’s never sold any of his funds. I have a similar strong buy and hold strategy. The only time I’ve called vanguard over the last 10 years since I’ve invested with them is once needing help for an in kind transfer from my brockrage account and second time to set up back door roth correctly.
My question is, for a long term buy and hold investor of low cost passive index funds only, who periodically rebalances and reinvests the dividends automatically, does vanguard’s customer service even matter?
As I said, I have rarely had a need for customer service in decades with Vanguard. Good funds, low prices, no problems.
That’s not quite true. What I have not done is realize a capital gain on a fund.
I also call rarely, but rarely isn’t never.
It’s been frustrating to be on the wrong end of 2 major errors by Vanguard in the past 4 months after 20+ years of problem-free service. The first error was gifting shares of stock (intended to go to a family member with a Vanguard account) to the wrong accountholder; while Vanguard eventually fixed the error, it was surprising that it took 3 weeks to correct it. The second major error related to processing a new account application for a family member – I was initially confident Vanguard would resolve the situation to my satisfaction, but gave up on them after they put the burden on me to fix their mistake, and eventually chose to take that family member’s assets elsewhere. I can live with a brokerage house making occasional errors, but have no tolerance for a lack of alacrity in correcting their mistakes. The bulk of my investments remain at Vanguard (I agree with others here that if you don’t need customer service, investing with Vanguard is generally smooth sailing); but if someone asks me where to open an investment account, Vanguard is no longer my unqualified recommendation.
Earlier this year I transferred a multiple 6 figure traditional TSP (military 401k) to liberate the over $100,000 of post-tax money in the traditional (happens when you contribute in a combat zone). I talked to them ahead of time and I sent them messages making sure they knew to put the post-tax money into my Roth IRA. They acknowledged all communications and my wishes (in writing via their messaging site). Then they put my entire amount in my Traditional IRA. The first person I spoke with told me, “Oh, that is a mixed fund now and the IRS prohibits us from separating it. You are going to have to live with it.” After a fruitless discussion with them, I waited a while for my blood pressure to come down and called again. This time a person recognized the error immediately and transferred me to the department who handles errors in 401k transfers (wow, an entire department who works nothing but 401k transfer screwups). That person was great and admitted, “It says right on the check TSP sent us how much should go to Roth.” It was fixed the very next day. If they screw up, don’t accept the first wrong answer you get. I have received many wrong answers from them, so be careful. I have not in kind transferred as I have mutual funds and don’t want to pay a fee when I sell them at my new brokerage. Plus, I only deal with customer (lack of) service every few years.
whoa, i want to do that soon, transfer Roth TSP to Roth IRA. sounds like a nightmare. thanks for the heads up. how to get that department upfront before errors made?
Anymore tips on the topic of getting your combat zone contributions into a Roth IRA? I’ll be doing it in a few months and it’s hard to find a reliable description of the process other than the WCI post from a long time ago.
Could be worse. When I did it there was no reliable description at all.
The truth is finally shining through the false claims of vanguard zealots. The horrible call wait times, incompetent reps, endless transfers and ridiculous processes for routine transactions are finally being called out. My latest experience to transfer one position in-kind from etrade to vanguard was a 6 week ordeal resulting in hours of phone time and multiple resubmission all due to vanguard issues. Being a flagship client is useless. They don’t care and those individuals that try are hamstrung by inflexible company processes. I plan to unwind my vanguard positions to only a few admiral funds and only those that need to be kept at vanguard to receive no fee dividend reinvestment.
I used to have accounts at both Fidelity and Vanguard. I consolidated everything into Vanguard when I simplified my portfolio. Back then, I noticed a big difference in the services of each. Fidelity has a local office and I can meet with an adviser in person which I did at least once a year. Fidelity’s internet platform and services was much better. Today, Vanguard’s internet platform is good and I can do everything I need to that way. I rarely have to call Vanguard, but when I do, , it takes time to get through. The people I talk with are knowledgeable and able to answer my questions.
I cannot speak to current Schwab or Fidelity services but in the words of Bill Gates, Vanguard’s services are “good enough”.
John
I can only speak on Vanguard’s customer service as funds are funds and I have my own opinions about Mortimer “Tim” Buckley.
Around 2003-06 Vanguard bought a large tract of land to build a huge call center as they felt they would need it to handle the influx of calls. Around 2007-8 with the internet taking off and people using computers for banking the inbound call numbers never came even though assets under management kept increasing with greater speed. They were able to still handle the call volume through at least 2013. They sold the property they had bought around 2011. In and around 2014-2016 they merged their brokerage platform with their mutual fund platform.
In doing so, it required phone agents to have a series 7 instead of a series 6. The 7 is much more difficult to pass as it is brokerage based and requires a thorough understanding of options. While 63 is investments and mutual funds and is pretty straight forward.
Vanguard hires customer service oriented employees that have a college degree no matter their major. This allows them to hire at 1/3 the cost. This wasn’t an issue when they employees could take the 6 and 63. My class pass rate was about 70%. With the 7 being much more difficult my guess is the pass rate is much lower. With the pass rate is being lower and Vanguard hiring from the traditional pool of employees without offering competing wages they are unable to ramp up call center coverage to catch up with their meteoric rise in assets under management.
Please note this is specifically for retail customers. To my understanding 401k plans were not effected by the merger of the two platforms as they had their own system. I recommend trying to get as web savvy as possible because I do not see an end in sight. Unless they change their hiring methods.
It doesn’t help that nobody can hire these days.
Another point not mentioned is that Vanguard decided to increase allocation to international stocks in all their target funds around 10 years back without giving any explanation to their customers. We all know how international stocks have performed compared to US since their abrupt and ad hoc decision. I stopped using Vanguard target date funds since then.
I wouldn’t necessarily hold that against them (the investor paying attention always has the option to do what you did if it bothered them) although the timing was unfortunately in retrospect.
I had a bad experience with Vanguard when I Roll Over my 401-k into my Ira at Vanguard: the first time transferred funds from Traditional 401-k to Ira( at Vanguard), and instead they transferred to a Roth Ira. Only when I realized was a mistake they corrected. Later on( a few months) I did the same with the funds from the matching ( also on a traditional / tax deferred 401-k), but this time I told them to be very careful to avoid the past mistake, still the result was the same: the funds went to the Roth Ira!!! What if I haven’t paid attention to the whole process, possible a huge penalty to pay for something that was no my error.
I work for Vanguard and as much as I know people hate hearing this, the best bit of advice I can give you is to send them feedback on these issue’s. I know filling out a feedback form that disappears into the void without you ever hearing back feels like no one is listening. But I can assure you that they have a team of people constantly going through feedback and constantly improving. Like any giant company it can sadly takes years to get improvements done depending on how big they are.
I don’t work in customer service but we always check with them to see what clients are complaining about the most and work with them to solve these kind of issues. I think Vanguard is late to the party when it comes to improving their outdated infrastructure and experience but they know it and are honestly working to improve it.
Unfortunately, it’s too much trouble to move my Individual 401(k) to another brokerage. Vanguard probably knows it’s hard to transfer certain accounts. I would like to, but I have a Roth component (which eliminates many brokerages) and I prefer online contributions.
The lack of customer service is definitely an issue. Vanguard needs a significant overhaul, and perhaps the first of this should be elimination of their current CEO.
I will maintain assets in both Fidelity and Vanguard, despite the decline of Vanguard’s customer service. If a hacker compromises either my account, or the servers of the entire financial institution, then I will have at least the other institution as a back-up while the hacking issue is being sorted out. I do not want to risk having my entire portfolio in one place. This is particularly important if you are retired and do not have a steady stream of earned income to live on.
I don’t see that as a huge concern, but you’re right that it’s easy to address and I suppose I have, even if not for that reason.
For many years I kept a Vanguard account for the same reason you mention. But given that Interactive Brokers, TD Ameritrade and Schwab all get good marks in the Barrons annual survey of electronic brokers, I am finally going to get off my duff and move my money from Vanguard.
I’m currently reading a book called “The Bogle Effect,” and Chapter 8 (“Some Worry”) pretty much addresses the “Has Vanguard Lost it’s Way” question. The other chapters are pretty good, too. I highly recommend the book.
I am a 20+ year Vanguard Flagship client and a 10+ year Fidelity client.
Vanguard used to be terrific: free advise, capable service, forward thinking products and solid tech. Over time, everything has degraded. I am no longer a Vanguard evangelist. They now have parity with Fidelity.
Vanguard used to have the larger portion of my portfolio. Now it is split 50/50.
They need new leadership. I want the old Vanguard back.
Bill Mcnabb truly cared about his employees and customers. He was originally going to be a teacher but ended up at Vanguard.
Tim Buckley has always had an way about him that you knew he had something to prove and was going to take things in a very different direction.
I think a most of the Vanguard customer service issues originate from horrible information technology. Just one example was my $13.5 million in brokered CDs according to the smartphone app that was off by about 10,000%. When people get wrong information or can’t figure out the non-intuitive web interface , they call in and overload the staff, resulting in long hold times.
https://www.etf.com/sections/index-investor-corner/are-vanguards-it-systems-breaking-point?nopaging=1
I have been a Vanguard customer for around 20 years. I have also been a Fidelity customer for around 20 years. I have accounts well into seven figures with both. My Vanguard balance is almost twice my Fidelity balance but despite that I get far better service from Fidelity. There is no comparison in terms of the reliability of their tech platforms and customer service: Fidelity is by far better. Consistently and for years.
I recently decided to move all of my money from Vanguard to Fidelity and to give Interactive Brokers a chance with a small amount of my funds. Vanguard’s customer service is so bad they do not deserve either my funds or any loyalty.
I made a mistake last year when I opened (as trustee) living trust accounts at Vanguard for my nieces: Instead of using the girls’ SSN’s, as I should have, I got an EIN from the IRS for each account. I first informed Vanguard (via phone) of the error on Jan 15th of this year, hoping to get the numbers changed before the 1099’s issued. The person I talked with at that time (in the Trust limb of the CS tree) advised sending paper copies of W-9’s with the correct information to the El Paso mail drop. She said that the online form could lead to unintended results. She was right, in the end, but the paper W-9’s (mailed in January) have never been acknowledged and no changes were made in the following month or more after I sent them. During a subsequent call I spoke with someone in the “Change of Ownership” limb of the CS tree. He informed me that it was impossible to change the SSN attached to an account, and that I would need to close the accounts and open new ones. I didn’t follow his suggestion, but maybe I should have. I contacted the Trust department again and was again told that I could change the numbers by submitting corrected W-9’s, but this time I was told I could do it using the online form, and I was sent two links through my online Vanguard account. I was hesitant to use them, based on what the first CS rep had told me back in January, but I did submit them. After a few weeks of hearing nothing, I called in to the Trust line again. This time it was obvious that something had gone wrong. The CS rep couldn’t find MY accounts using MY SSN. During the search for my accounts they came up with my father’s SSN (same address and first and last names but his name included a Sr. and he died in 2015). Eventually, after making what sounded like progress towards getting things onto the right tracks, I was told that an investigation would have to be done before any action could be taken, but that things should move forward within a week or so. I understand wanting to be sure that a scam isn’t being pulled, but… It is now almost June. I’ve been on the phone at least a half dozen times since January, for at least 10 hours total, and have yet to receive the corrected 1099’s or see any evidence of changes being made other than that a CS rep has been able to tell me that, based on information that they can see, but I can’t, the right SSN’s are now attached to the girls’ accounts. Maybe they will get corrected 1099’s before 2022, but I’m worried that they will also be getting corrected 1099’s for MY accounts. I think what it boils down to is that real CS people at Vanguard have been disempowered, and are only allowed to do what Vanguard’s poorly-constructed software permits them to do. If a solution to your problem isn’t written into the software, then, as the guy in “Change of Ownership” told me, it’s impossible.
Any bond buyers out there?
Like many, I have been with Vanguard since the beginning of time, but I have always had a second brokerage account, which also allows for comparison of services and capabilities. In recent years, that has been Scottrade and then TD Ameritrade. I have found Vanguard’s bond search tool far superior. It really isn’t that amazing, it merely allows one to search using all the obvious characteristics, including very precise maturity ranges. Rather, the others are just inferior (admittedly, Scottrade wasn’t trying to be a bond house). When I was first switched to TD, I spent some time comparing. Search tool aside, when I found the same bond available on both, Vanguard’s pricing, after commission was superior to TD’s pricing (no commission, bid/ask spread).
Since (eventually) I will be merged into Schwab, does anyone have accounts at both Vanguard and Schwab and purchase bonds and care to offer comparison commentary?
Also, I follow DepositAccounts.com which weekly offers commentary on brokered deposit rates at Fidelity and Vanguard. Fidelity’s rates sometimes match Vanguard’s but never beats them.
Customer service has declined from best in class to poor.