Vanguard Personal Advisor Review 2024
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Our Take
4.3
Reviewed in: Oct. 2024
Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2024
The bottom line:
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Pros & Cons
Pros
Low portfolio management fee.
Comprehensive advice with goals-based financial planning tools.
Unlimited access to a team of financial advisors.
Solid investment selection with Vanguard’s suite of funds.
Cons
$50,000 investment minimum.
Portfolios use only Vanguard funds.
Compare to Other Advisors
Fees 0.30% management fee | Fees $1,000 and up per year (free initial consultation) | Fees Up to 1% per year |
Account minimum $50,000 | Account minimum $0 | Account minimum $250,000 |
Promotion None no promotion available at this time | Promotion Limited time $550 kick-start offer!* Get $300 into your brokerage account if you invest & maintain $5k within your first 90 days, plus the $250 enrollment fee will be waived for new annual members. Expires Dec 31, 2024 | Promotion $250 off one year of financial or tax planning |
Learn more on Vanguard's website | Learn more on Facet's website | Learn more on Harness Wealth's website |
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NerdWallet doesn’t invest its money with this provider, but they are our referral partner – so we get paid only if you click through and take a qualifying action (such as open an account with or provide your contact information to the provider). Most importantly, our reviews and ratings are objective and are never impacted by our partnerships. Our opinions are our own. Here is a list of our partners and here’s how we make money.
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Full Review
In this review of Vanguard Personal Advisor
Where Vanguard Personal Advisor shines
Low account advisory fee: Vanguard is famous for using its size to reduce fees for investors, and Vanguard Personal Advisor, one of the largest players in the hybrid robo-advisor/online planning space, continues that tradition: The advisor charges just 0.30% of assets under management, with a $50,000 account minimum.
Human and virtual assistance: Vanguard offers both virtual planning tools and guidance from human financial advisors. Most of these advisors are certified financial planners. These advisors personalize a financial plan and provide ongoing portfolio monitoring for investors.
Investment selection: Customers can take advantage of Vanguard’s time-tested, low-cost funds.
Where Vanguard Personal Advisor falls short
Lack of flexibility: Clients must move money into a Vanguard account and exclusively use Vanguard’s suite of products/funds.
High account minimum for dedicated advisor access: Accounts under $500,000 get access to a team of advisors rather than a single dedicated advisor.
Alternatives to consider:
For more flexibility: Wealthramp and Harness Wealth
For a dedicated financial advisor at a lower minimum: J.P. Morgan Personal Advisors, Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium (must request to work with the same advisor).
Who should choose Vanguard Personal Advisor?
Investors who want access to financial advisors: Whether you want comprehensive financial planning or the reassurance of reaching a human advisor, Vanguard Personal Advisor offers multiple ways to reach an advisor, most of whom are certified financial planners.
Users with larger account balances: The account minimum at Vanguard Personal Advisor starts at $50,000, but accounts that reach $500,000 get access to a dedicated advisor.
Vanguard Personal Advisor at a glance
Reviewed in: Oct. 2024.
Period considered: Aug. - Oct. 2024.
Account minimum | $50,000. |
Account management, planning or subscription fee |
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Other account fees | None. |
Setup or onboarding fee | None. |
Advisor access and credentials |
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Financial planning services | Can advise and create a custom portfolio for a variety of situations, such as saving for retirement, college or a family vacation home. Services include: Social Security optimization, dynamic spending, tax efficiency, long-term care and medical costs, high-level guidance on estate planning, charitable giving, Roth conversions and trust services. |
Investment expense ratios on portfolios | Average expense ratio is 0.05%. |
Portfolio construction | Vanguard Personal Advisor creates customizable portfolios on a client-by-client basis. It uses low-cost Vanguard index funds and ETFs, which are diversified with tight tracking. Vanguard Personal Advisor also offers three ESG funds (scored on environmental, social and governance factors for sustainable investing). |
Brokerage options | Clients must move money to Vanguard but can keep outside investments if there are embedded gains or other reasons to do so. |
Accounts supported |
Personal Advisor will consider and provide guidance for other account types (e.g., 529s, UGMA, UTMA, non-Vanguard record-kept 401(k)s, and spousal accounts), but does not directly manage them. |
Tax strategy |
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Customer support options (includes how easy it is to find key details on the website) | Customer support is available Monday through Friday, 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time. Ability to schedule appointments with an advisor at any time. |
What to know about Vanguard Personal Advisor's account minimum and fees
Account advisory, planning or subscription fee
Advisory fees for Vanguard Personal Advisor (balances under $500,000) depend on investment types. For an all-index investment option, Personal Advisor clients pay a net advisory fee of around 0.30%. Those with other investment types might see a range such as 0.25% to 0.27% for an ESG portfolio, or 0.26% to 0.35% for an active/index investment option.
Vanguard offers different advice services for account balances above $500,000, with the account advisory fee becoming a tiered structure. For Vanguard Personal Advisor Select service, which is for accounts from $500,000 to $5 million, clients can expect an advisory fee of 0.30%. For Vanguard Personal Advisor Wealth Management, which is for accounts above $5 million, the fee structure is as follows:
Between $5 to $10 million: 0.20%
Between $10 to $25 million: 0.10%
Over $25 million: 0.05%
This is fairly low in comparison to similar hybrid services such as Betterment Premium and Empower. For context, Betterment charges 0.65% for its Betterment Premium service, while Empower charges a tiered advisory fee for its Wealth Management and Investment Services product based on account balance starting at 0.89% for the first $1 million. This decreases by 0.10% every few million, down to 0.49% for account balances over $10 million.
Setup or onboarding fee
Some online financial planning platforms may charge for setting up an account or onboarding to their investment platform. Vanguard Personal Advisor does not charge any of these fees.
Investment expense ratios
Funds used within your investment portfolio will have embedded fees or investment expense ratios. These fees go back to the fund manager to cover the advisory, administrative and custodial costs associated with managing the fund. Vanguard funds have low asset-weighted average investment expense ratios of 0.05%.
Vanguard Personal Advisor access
Part of the value in hiring a financial advisor is that you have someone to turn to when life gets stormy, whether that means the markets are crashing or you’re experiencing personal turbulence. An advisor will help adjust your plan, if needed, or be there to remind you that your plan is sound. Likewise, an advisor can help you plan and adjust for major milestones, such as marriage or the birth of a child.
Vanguard Personal Advisor does that, offering an ongoing advisory relationship service with the level of access increasing based on net worth. Irrespective of your assets, you'll have unlimited access to advisors for free. You can schedule time to speak with an advisor by phone or videoconference, and advisors are also available for quick email questions.
Vanguard Personal Advisor financial planning services
Working with your Vanguard advisor, you’ll discuss your goals and needs. Your advisor will personalize a financial plan to fit your situation, taking your feelings about risk, investing timeframe and other factors into consideration. After you give the go-ahead to implement your plan, Vanguard Personal Advisor becomes your financial coach — helping to monitor your portfolio and make any necessary adjustments along the way.
Vanguard Personal Advisor offers a broad range of financial planning tools. Its proprietary financial simulation engine, Vanguard Capital Markets Model, runs 10,000 scenarios to determine the likelihood of meeting your financial goals. The Emergency Savings Estimator provides guidance on appropriate levels of cash or invested assets to protect against unexpected expenses. And Next Dollar Optimizer helps you prioritize competing objectives and deploy your savings effectively. Other tools include: Health Care Estimator, Medicare Match and Social Security Analyzer.
Other key Vanguard Personal Advisor features
Portfolio construction
Vanguard Personal Advisor builds portfolios on a client-by-client basis, taking into account your goals, circumstances and preferences. Portfolio investment recommendations primarily use Vanguard exchange-traded funds, or ETFs. In many ways, that benefits investors. Vanguard funds are well-diversified, tightly track the underlying index, and carry some of the lowest expense ratios available. In fact, many competitor robo-advisors also use them as the base of their portfolios. However, it allows Vanguard to take a cut twice; once with the management fee and again with fund expense ratios.
Vanguard Personal Advisor also offers all-index, ESG, active fixed income, and active equity funds. For qualified investors, a private equity fund is available. Vanguard intends for its active investment lineup to emphasize its focus on having global scale, a low-cost philosophy, rigorous oversight and adherence to time-tested investment principles.
Tax strategy
Vanguard Personal Advisor offers tax minimization strategies, such as automated tax-loss harvesting (offsetting capital gains from winning investments by selling securities at a loss), tax-efficient rebalancing and the use of tax-efficient funds, such as tax-exempt municipal bonds.
Accounts supported
When it comes to managing your overall investment portfolio, many investors don’t just have one investment account. You may want to consolidate your accounts with one provider, in which case it’s important to consider what account types that provider can support.
Vanguard Personal Advisor provides portfolio monitoring of brokerage and individual retirement accounts, as well as trusts. But the advisors will also take into account other aspects of a client’s portfolio, such as a 401(k), college savings plans or even accounts held at another firm, when developing a financial plan. It’s up to you to tell your advisor about those assets. While they won’t be advised directly by Vanguard advisors, the advice you get will be comprehensive.
Customer support options
Vanguard Personal Advisor revamped its website recently, providing an updated look and enhancing its ease of use.
Beyond the website and its many tools (simulators, calculators, retirement-planning guides and educational materials), you can reach out to customer service 8 a.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern time Monday to Friday.
Good to know about Vanguard Personal Advisor features
Brokerage options
Some competing online financial planners allow clients more flexibility with the custodian of their assets. For Vanguard Personal Advisor, clients must open a Vanguard brokerage account and move assets over. However, clients can hold onto outside investments if there are embedded gains or other reasons to do so.
Is Vanguard Personal Advisor right for you?
Access to a human advisor is a differentiator and especially valuable for investors with complex situations. Vanguard Personal Advisor combines personalized financial planning, virtual planning tools and an enduring fund lineup.
Despite the requirement to move assets onto its platform, Vanguard provides a compelling offering. And those willing and able to deposit large balances ($500,000 or more) can receive even more personalized advice.
Disclosure: Vanguard's advice services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc. ("VAI"), a registered investment advisor, or by Vanguard National Trust Company ("VNTC"), a federally chartered, limited-purpose trust company. The services provided to clients will vary based upon the service selected, including management, fees, eligibility, and access to an advisor. Find VAI's Form CRS and each program's advisory brochure here for an overview. VAI and VNTC are subsidiaries of The Vanguard Group, Inc., and affiliates of Vanguard Marketing Corporation. Neither VAI, VNTC, nor its affiliates guarantee profits or protection from losses.
on Vanguard's website
