Victorious Investing With Vanguard
Vanguard’s claim to fame is that they are not owned by shareholders, rather, they are owned by those who invest in their funds. Learn everything you need to know about investing with Vanguard.
How to Invest with Vanguard?
Vanguard – B+
Vanguard is another one of the “big boys” in the investment world. While this company has low fees, it is very technical with a hard platform to learn. Their website isn’t necessarily user friendly for new investors, and this has earned this company a B+.
All About Vanguard
Vanguard is a big name in the investment business. You’ve probably heard of them, even if only by reputation. They boast the fact that their members are not simply “investors,” but owners. Vanguard’s claim to fame is that they are not owned by shareholders, rather, they are owned by those who invest in their funds.
This means you’ll be able to seek financial advice that’s personalized to your needs, make high-quality investments, take advantage of their tools for retirement, and be privy to news of the market that might help you on your financial investment journey.
Due to owning a part of the company rather than any shareholders, this means Vanguard is able to lower their fees and keep them low as you’ll be able to keep more of your own returns.
What They Offer
Vanguard offers all kinds of investment accounts, from IRAs to mutual funds, from ETFs to stocks to bonds, even a 529 Plan for your children’s future schooling. Their mutual funds tend to do very well, and is one of the biggest draws of investing with this company. ETFs are also a huge draw, as they allow you diversification in your investments, meaning for a price of one share, you can invest in several different companies at once.
Individual stocks through Vanguard are purchased as the full share, not a fraction of a share, so you’ll want to be aware of that.
Vanguard has a list of fees for your perusal of what they charge for each account they offer. Brokerage accounts are $20 per account, however, by signing up for their e-delivery service, you’ll be able to forego this fee. Mutual fund accounts are also $20 each if their balance is less than $10,000. However, that fee is waived if you have at least $50,000 in assets qualified through Vanguard.
The Big Picture
While Vanguard is a trusted name in the business and there is just about nothing you can’t do at this brokerage, the website can be clunky, hard to navigate, and for the first-time investor, difficult to understand. It does get easier to use after one gets the hang of it, however the learning curve is steep.
Their low fees, coupled with their ability to waive these fees should you meet their criteria, are a huge draw in their favor, however, their ding is the technical side of learning their platform. If you don’t mind sifting through their website in an effort to learn the process, then perhaps Vanguard is for you. Even with their ding, Vanguard is an excellent brokerage and has earned the grade of B+ from Financial Joy School.
To learn more about investing with Vanguard, closing the racial wealth gap, and growing generational wealth for Black and brown families, please visit Financial Joy School and become a part of our financial family.