--- title: Vanguard Review 2022 description: Vanguard is known for its low-cost index funds, financial advisory services and more. See if it's right for you. authors: - name: Javier Simon url: https://money.com/author/javier-simon/ bio: Javier is a personal finance reporter covering retirement, investing, crypto and more. His work has appeared on leading financial websites including NerdWallet, Bankrate and SmartAsset. He’s also written for newspapers, magazines and video. at_money_since: 2021 articles: 39 covers: - Investing - Banking - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Economy and Politics - Housing - Loans - Personal Finance - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology former_staff: true editors: - name: Elizabeth O'Brien role: Deputy Editor url: https://money.com/author/elizabeth-obrien/ bio: Elizabeth O’Brien is Money's deputy editor. She has covered personal finance for more than 10 years, with a focus on retirement planning and health care. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter, Retire with Money. at_money_since: 2016 articles: 194 covers: - Investing - Business - Career Advice - Credit - Economy and Politics - Education - Health and Wellness - Housing - Identity Theft - Insurance - Lifestyle - Loans - Personal Finance - Pets - Retirement - Shopping - Taxes - Technology social: - https://twitter.com/elizobrien former_staff: true published: '2022-05-05T21:01:18.000Z' modified: '2024-01-10T13:02:21.000Z' section: Investing tags: - Guides word_count: 919 canonical: https://money.com/vanguard-review/ type: Article source: structured-blocks --- > **Disclosure:** We research all brands listed and may earn a fee from our partners. Research and financial considerations may influence how brands are displayed. Not all brands are included. [Learn more](https://money.com/page/disclaimer/). ![Stock charts](https://img.money.com/2022/03/Investing-Vanguard-Review.jpg) Vanguard is an industry pioneer of low-cost index funds. Long-term investors and retirement savers can easily build a cost-effective, diversified portfolio with Vanguard exchange-traded funds ([ETFs](https://money.com/what-is-an-etf/)) and mutual funds, and these offerings have helped the company earn a spot as one of Money's [best online stock trading platforms](https://money.com/best-online-stock-trading/). Yet short-term traders may be disappointed, since the brokerage lacks the robust research tools that active traders use to evaluate stocks and develop trading strategies, and it also doesn't offer direct access to cryptocurrencies like bitcoin. ## **Vanguard at a glance** - **Account minimum investment**: $0 to open an account, but many Vanguard mutual funds require a minimum investment of at least $3,000. - **Fees**: $0 trading commissions for stocks and ETFs - **Tradable securities**: Stocks, ETFs, mutual funds, bonds, CDs - **Account types**: Taxable brokerage account, IRA, Roth IRA, managed accounts, 529 college savings plans Since 1975, Vanguard has been helping investors meet their long-term goals. Today, it continues offering investors access to a variety of funds and investment services. Here are some of its strong points. **Low-cost funds**: Vanguard leads the industry when it comes to funds with low expense ratios. These are management fees charged by fund companies, so high expense ratios can really eat into your returns. But the average expense ratio for a Vanguard fund is 0.10%, compared to the industry average of 0.60%, according to research by Morningstar, a leading investment analysis and management firm. So investors can easily build a portfolio with low-cost mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (ETFs) to meet their long-term goals. **Wide selection of funds**: Vanguard gives investors access to thousands of commission-free ETFs and more than 160 no-transaction-fee mutual funds, including ones from other fund companies. **Access to fiduciary financial advisors**: If you have complex financial goals, you can work directly with a financial advisor at Vanguard. As fiduciaries, Vanguard’s financial advisors are required to give advice solely in your best interest. This means they can’t recommend investments just because these will provide them with commissions or some sort of kickback. However, you’d need a minimum of $50,000 in investable assets for Vanguard personal advisor services. ## **Where Vanguard falls behind** While Vanguard has a lot to offer, it may not satisfy all types of investors. Here are some of its drawbacks. **No cryptocurrency:** Vanguard doesn’t let investors directly invest in crypto such as [bitcoin](https://money.com/what-is-bitcoin/), [ethereum](https://money.com/what-is-ethereum/) and [dogecoin](https://money.com/how-to-buy-dogecoin/). But you can trade a variety of crypto through investing apps such as [Robinhood](https://money.com/robinhood-free-trades/), SoFi and [Webull](https://money.com/how-to-use-webull-beginners/). **High investment minimums**: The minimum investment for some Vanguard mutual funds can range from $3,000 to $5,000. Those new to investing may not have that amount in investable assets. But online brokers like Fidelity offer a selection of funds that don’t require a minimum investment. Vanguard has some user-friendly research tools such as mutual fund and ETF screeners. You can use these to find funds based on your preferences. Moreover, Vanguard offers various calculators and tools that can help you figure out [how much you should save for retirement](https://money.com/save-for-retirement/) and also to determine your income in retirement. You can also use a tool that presents you with some simple questions about your financial goals and risk tolerance before recommending an asset allocation for your portfolio. Asset allocation defines how you break down your portfolio across different asset types such as stocks and bonds. Its Vanguard Portfolio-Watch feature helps you visualize your asset allocation through a sleek interface. You can see how it breaks down by asset class and how it's diversified across a specific asset class such as stocks. For example, you can see how much of your portfolio is invested in domestic and international stocks. You can also see how your investment costs differ across industry averages. Its Portfolio-Tester feature helps you predict how your portfolio balance may change if you make tweaks to your asset mix. For example, you can visualize what may happen if you shift your stock mix from 50% to 65%. But the brokerage lacks advanced research tools that help you analyze individual stocks and come up with trading ideas. Vanguard is more focused on investors who want access to long-term investing strategies. Active day traders may want to consider trading platforms like TD Ameritrade, Fidelity and [Schwab](https://money.com/charles-schwab-review/). ## **Vanguard mobile app** The Vanguard mobile app offers an easy-to-use interface. You can use it to check your account balance, trade fund shares and monitor your portfolio. According to the Vanguard website, the company is working on incorporating more research capabilities. The Vanguard app currently has a rating of 4.7/5 on the Apple store. It has a less favorable rating of 2/5 on the Google Play Store. ## **Vanguard customer service** You can reach Vanguard customer support by dialing 877-662-7447 on business days from 8 a.m. to 8 p.m., ET. ## Vanguard FAQ ### Is Vanguard good for beginners? New investors can find commission-free stock and ETF trading at [Vanguard](https://money.com/pr/sce008d90f25). They also have a wealth of low-cost funds to build a diversified portfolio with. These perks make Vanguard a fitting spot for most passive investors and beginners. However, active day traders may want to find a broker that offers more stock analysis tools. ### How trustworthy is Vanguard? Vanguard brokerage has been around since the 1970s. It's known in the industry as a leader in low-cost mutual funds. With Vanguard, you have access to a variety of investment products, fiduciary financial advisors and leading market research. Vanguard currently has more than $7 trillion in assets under management (AUM). ### Who owns Vanguard? Vanguard is owned by the people who invest in its funds. While this unique structure doesn't result in any special dividends for investors, it does mean that Vanguard is not focused on increasing profits for outside shareholders. Instead, it can plow profits back into lowering its fees. The firm has been a low-cost leader in the industry, pushing the competition to drop its fees to follow suit. [Charles Schwab Review 2022](https://money.com/charles-schwab-review/) [7 Best Online Stock Trading Platforms of 2022](https://money.com/best-online-stock-trading/) [How Much Should You Save for Retirement?](https://money.com/save-for-retirement/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "@id": "https://money.com/vanguard-review/#breadcrumb", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://money.com" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Investing", "item": "https://money.com/investing/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Online Stock Trading Apps", "item": "https://money.com/online-stock-trading-apps/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "Vanguard Review 2022" } ] }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://money.com/#website", "url": "https://money.com", "name": "Money", "publisher": { "@id": "https://money.com/#organization" } }, { "@type": "WebPage", "@id": "https://money.com/vanguard-review/#webpage", "url": "https://money.com/vanguard-review/", "name": "Vanguard Review 2022", "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://money.com/#website" }, "datePublished": "2022-05-05T21:01:18.000Z", "mainEntity": { "@id": "https://money.com/vanguard-review/" }, "inLanguage": "en-US", "breadcrumb": { "@id": "https://money.com/vanguard-review/#breadcrumb" }, "dateModified": "2024-01-10T13:02:21.000Z" }, { "@type": "Article", "headline": "Vanguard Review 2022", "articleSection": "Investing", "image": [ { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://img.money.com/2022/03/Investing-Vanguard-Review.jpg", "width": 2880, "height": 1920, "caption": "Investing-Vanguard-Review" } ], "author": [ { "@type": "Person", "name": "Javier Simon", "url": "https://money.com/author/javier-simon/", "@id": "https://money.com/author/javier-simon/#author", "description": "Javier is a personal finance reporter covering retirement, investing, crypto and more. 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