Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Have a question about your personal investments? No matter how simple or complex, you can ask it here.
Topic Author
Dkells4
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:31 am

Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Dkells4 »

I have monies spread between Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab. I'm considering retiring within the next two years so I'm considering consolidating monies with Vanguard. Once I have more than $500k in Vanguard I am eligible to have a Personal Adviser. I've done fine with Vanguard funds and now as I approach retirement I may want more personal advice. I'd like someone I could contact easily for advice.
So my question is- Do any of you have opinions on having a Vanguard Personal Advisor? Is it worth the extra fees?
Ok thanks for any input.
Silk McCue
Posts: 8952
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2016 6:11 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Silk McCue »

You don’t get a Personal Advisor at Vanguard when you hit $500k. You don’t really get anything meaningful.

You can pay for Vanguard Personal Advisor Services with only $50k but you will pay a fee of .3% for the privilege.

Cheers
Elysium
Posts: 4120
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:22 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Elysium »

You get a dedicated PAS advisor if you invest more than $500K with them, others get team advise. Your advisor will get to know you personally and your situation. I guess this is what you mean. Yes, so if that's important to you then go for it. PAS is very cookie cutter in nature though no matter what, whether you invest $50K or $1mm you get almost exact same advise on AA and fund selection. The only difference with more than $500k is you talk to same person every time, but the advise is same.
tibbitts
Posts: 23716
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 5:50 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by tibbitts »

Dkells4 wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:28 pm I've done fine with Vanguard funds and now as I approach retirement I may want more personal advice. I'd like someone I could contact easily for advice.
What would be an example of personal advice you'd expect?
drzzzzz
Posts: 1047
Joined: Sat Sep 22, 2012 9:56 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by drzzzzz »

delete
dbr
Posts: 46181
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:50 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by dbr »

A person looking for a reasonable plan and cookie cutter management probably is find with VPAS. A person wanting someone to talk to for "advice" is probably going to be disappointed.
furwut
Posts: 2123
Joined: Tue Jun 05, 2012 8:54 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by furwut »

Dkells4 wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:28 pm I'd like someone I could contact easily for advice.
So my question is- Do any of you have opinions on having a Vanguard Personal Advisor? Is it worth the extra fees?
Ok thanks for any input.
For some people yes, others no. I have a friend who uses PAS and she loves it. Me? I think any question I might ask them I could just as easily ask here and save the 30 basis points. Why don’t you try it out as you prepare to retire? That’s a time you are sure to have a lot of questions and you can always cancel later on.

P.s., I’ve heard one doesn’t have to have all your funds at Vanguard or under PAS and they’ll still give advice for the whole.
MikeG62
Posts: 5065
Joined: Tue Nov 15, 2016 2:20 pm
Location: New Jersey

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by MikeG62 »

Elysium wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:55 pm You get a dedicated PAS advisor if you invest more than $500K with them, others get team advise. Your advisor will get to know you personally and your situation. I guess this is what you mean. Yes, so if that's important to you then go for it. PAS is very cookie cutter in nature though no matter what, whether you invest $50K or $1mm you get almost exact same advise on AA and fund selection. The only difference with more than $500k is you talk to same person every time, but the advise is same.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but I do not think you get a personal advisor you talk to anytime you call with assets of $500K. You call into a team any member of which who answers the phone will help you. See here:

https://investor.vanguard.com/investing ... ts/voyager
Real Knowledge Comes Only From Experience
Lastrun
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 6:46 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Lastrun »

MikeG62 wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:05 am
Elysium wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:55 pm You get a dedicated PAS advisor if you invest more than $500K with them, others get team advise. Your advisor will get to know you personally and your situation. I guess this is what you mean. Yes, so if that's important to you then go for it. PAS is very cookie cutter in nature though no matter what, whether you invest $50K or $1mm you get almost exact same advise on AA and fund selection. The only difference with more than $500k is you talk to same person every time, but the advise is same.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but I do not think you get a personal advisor you talk to anytime you call with assets of $500K. You call into a team any member of which who answers the phone will help you. See here:

https://investor.vanguard.com/investing ... ts/voyager
I think you may be confusing the old structure (Voyager Select, Flagship, etc.) with PAS.

Scroll down here https://investor.vanguard.com/advice/financial-advisor where it says you have a "dedicated advisor" at PAS level of $500K.
savvyplanner
Posts: 6
Joined: Sun Jan 23, 2022 9:48 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by savvyplanner »

The better someone knows you, the better their advice. But the type of advice they give will fit in with what they do. Are they able to advise on social security strategy, for example? Retirement planning is way more than just asset allocation, it's more like continuous management and adjustments as you age. The question is, how much support do you want and how much time do you want to devote managing your finances vs doing other things?
Lastrun
Posts: 1512
Joined: Wed May 03, 2017 6:46 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Lastrun »

savvyplanner wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:27 am The better someone knows you, the better their advice. But the type of advice they give will fit in with what they do. Are they able to advise on social security strategy, for example? Retirement planning is way more than just asset allocation, it's more like continuous management and adjustments as you age. The question is, how much support do you want and how much time do you want to devote managing your finances vs doing other things?
I look at PAS as simply a portfolio management option. I would not expect to get much in the way of "advice" from them at the fee level, other than the simple allocation, rebalancing and tax loss harvesting.

Being frank, some BH's are paying more than 30bps for some Avantis funds, so you get the level of advice you pay for.

While it is hard to calculate the cost of SIPs at Schwab, Fidelity is at 50bps and Merrill is at 70bps for a similar service. I think for personalized service you are looking at 100bps honestly. But I think one could combine PAS with a fee for service advisor and have something that is comparable to a full CFP/AUM experience.
pennywise
Posts: 970
Joined: Sat May 31, 2014 6:22 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by pennywise »

Dkells4 wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:28 pm I have monies spread between Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab. I'm considering retiring within the next two years so I'm considering consolidating monies with Vanguard. Once I have more than $500k in Vanguard I am eligible to have a Personal Adviser. I've done fine with Vanguard funds and now as I approach retirement I may want more personal advice. I'd like someone I could contact easily for advice.
So my question is- Do any of you have opinions on having a Vanguard Personal Advisor? Is it worth the extra fees?
Ok thanks for any input.
As has been noted, PAS is an additional service for which one pays a fee annually which is of course much smaller than the standard financial advisory model.

Also, respectfully Bogleheads as a group skews FAR to the end of the DIY scale in terms of people who enjoy managing their own finances. Therefore on this board you'll be hearing from mostly people who find investing a fascinating intellectual exercise, and who tend not to ascribe much utility to professional support. This is neither good nor bad, just an online dynamic to be aware exists on Bogleheads.

That said, we began using PAS at the same life stage you are facing. I manage the finances in our marriage; my spouse has neither interest nor inclination to do so.

I decided the fee was worth it to have someone assist us to 1) create a single unified investment strategy out of several money/investment streams (double pensions, double social security accounts, rental income, rollover IRAs etc), 2) implement the plan then actively monitor and adjust investments as market and world conditions change, 3) assist with questions about taxes, estate planning and other ongoing personal finance issues and 4) assist with establishing trusts, educational funds, withdrawal of gains etc to meet current and future financial family goals.

Could I do all that on my own? Probably but do I want to? No I don't. I absolutely enjoy deep dives into options on managing our money and how to do as well as possible, but I'm retired and I have a lot of other fun things I prefer to be doing as well. Offloading it to a company we can trust has been nothing but positive so far, and well worth the .03% we spend annually.

As with so much in life, everyone's situation is different and so it with using PAS. One more suggestion to you OP, there are many, many, MANY discussions about Vanguard Personal Advisor Service on the forum. You may want to search and then read those for a lot of opinions and experiences, both pro and con, which will also probably help you as you decide if it's right for you.
dbr
Posts: 46181
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:50 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by dbr »

pennywise wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:05 am
Dkells4 wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:28 pm I have monies spread between Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab. I'm considering retiring within the next two years so I'm considering consolidating monies with Vanguard. Once I have more than $500k in Vanguard I am eligible to have a Personal Adviser. I've done fine with Vanguard funds and now as I approach retirement I may want more personal advice. I'd like someone I could contact easily for advice.
So my question is- Do any of you have opinions on having a Vanguard Personal Advisor? Is it worth the extra fees?
Ok thanks for any input.
As has been noted, PAS is an additional service for which one pays a fee annually which is of course much smaller than the standard financial advisory model.

Also, respectfully Bogleheads as a group skews FAR to the end of the DIY scale in terms of people who enjoy managing their own finances. Therefore on this board you'll be hearing from mostly people who find investing a fascinating intellectual exercise, and who tend not to ascribe much utility to professional support. This is neither good nor bad, just an online dynamic to be aware exists on Bogleheads.

That said, we began using PAS at the same life stage you are facing. I manage the finances in our marriage; my spouse has neither interest nor inclination to do so.

I decided the fee was worth it to have someone assist us to 1) create a single unified investment strategy out of several money/investment streams (double pensions, double social security accounts, rental income, rollover IRAs etc), 2) implement the plan then actively monitor and adjust investments as market and world conditions change, 3) assist with questions about taxes, estate planning and other ongoing personal finance issues and 4) assist with establishing trusts, educational funds, withdrawal of gains etc to meet current and future financial family goals.

Could I do all that on my own? Probably but do I want to? No I don't. I absolutely enjoy deep dives into options on managing our money and how to do as well as possible, but I'm retired and I have a lot of other fun things I prefer to be doing as well. Offloading it to a company we can trust has been nothing but positive so far, and well worth the .03% we spend annually.

As with so much in life, everyone's situation is different and so it with using PAS. One more suggestion to you OP, there are many, many, MANY discussions about Vanguard Personal Advisor Service on the forum. You may want to search and then read those for a lot of opinions and experiences, both pro and con, which will also probably help you as you decide if it's right for you.
Well said. The one thing I would add to it is that this board operates with a justifiably high level of cynicism regarding the high and unjustified costs of most advisors extending on to the self-serving selling of investments that do not benefit the investor to outright fraud. An advantage of VPAS is that the costs are not high, that, so far anyway, they put people in appropriate investments, and they are not crooks.
Elysium
Posts: 4120
Joined: Mon Apr 02, 2007 6:22 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Elysium »

MikeG62 wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:05 am
Elysium wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:55 pm You get a dedicated PAS advisor if you invest more than $500K with them, others get team advise. Your advisor will get to know you personally and your situation. I guess this is what you mean. Yes, so if that's important to you then go for it. PAS is very cookie cutter in nature though no matter what, whether you invest $50K or $1mm you get almost exact same advise on AA and fund selection. The only difference with more than $500k is you talk to same person every time, but the advise is same.
Please correct me if I am wrong, but I do not think you get a personal advisor you talk to anytime you call with assets of $500K. You call into a team any member of which who answers the phone will help you. See here:

https://investor.vanguard.com/investing ... ts/voyager
PAS account structure is different from regular account classification as noted. $500k gets you a dedicated PAS advisor who will be the person that talks to you, below that level you get PAS team advise.
tibbitts
Posts: 23716
Joined: Tue Feb 27, 2007 5:50 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by tibbitts »

pennywise wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 10:05 am Also, respectfully Bogleheads as a group skews FAR to the end of the DIY scale in terms of people who enjoy managing their own finances.
You could have ended that sentence after the word "scale."
User avatar
SmileyFace
Posts: 9184
Joined: Wed Feb 19, 2014 9:11 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by SmileyFace »

Why not consolidate with Fidelity where you can actually get a free named advisor.
tundratoy
Posts: 48
Joined: Sat Jan 20, 2018 10:02 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by tundratoy »

I retired in December 2020 and decided to go with Vanguard Personal Advisor and am glad I made that choice. I have the same individual advisor and their fee is less than Fidelity. Before retiring, I managed my own 401K with Fidelity and my wife's 401k with Vanguard. But as Pennywise points out it is much better to have a single point of contact for investments. Also with Vanguard's management, they have insights that a normal person does not have unless you are into it 24-7. And should I pass before my wife, everything will transition easily for her.
I trust them, I have learned from them, and although I do not want to part with any of my nest egg, I feel they will more than make up for the money I pay them.
Parkinglotracer
Posts: 3947
Joined: Fri Dec 20, 2019 2:49 am
Location: Upstate NY

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Parkinglotracer »

Lastrun wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:36 am
savvyplanner wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 9:27 am The better someone knows you, the better their advice. But the type of advice they give will fit in with what they do. Are they able to advise on social security strategy, for example? Retirement planning is way more than just asset allocation, it's more like continuous management and adjustments as you age. The question is, how much support do you want and how much time do you want to devote managing your finances vs doing other things?
I look at PAS as simply a portfolio management option. I would not expect to get much in the way of "advice" from them at the fee level, other than the simple allocation, rebalancing and tax loss harvesting.

Being frank, some BH's are paying more than 30bps for some Avantis funds, so you get the level of advice you pay for.

While it is hard to calculate the cost of SIPs at Schwab, Fidelity is at 50bps and Merrill is at 70bps for a similar service. I think for personalized service you are looking at 100bps honestly. But I think one could combine PAS with a fee for service advisor and have something that is comparable to a full CFP/AUM experience.

Or as many say “be in a diversified 3 fund portfolio based upon your willingness and ability to assume risk and get what you DON’T pay for.”
rule of law guy
Posts: 525
Joined: Mon Jun 07, 2021 9:35 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by rule of law guy »

if you are approaching retirement, you may want to either write a will, or update your current will...and that gets you right into the sorts of questions you should be entertaining with an advisor. I would recommend a RIA/fiduciary who has some estate planning expertise. you are seeing more one stop shopping financial advisors/generational planning advisors. this is not something some Vanguard guy can do at the other end of a telephone. most RIAs are more than willing to use Vanguard funds
Never wrong, unless my wife tells me that I am.
UpperNwGuy
Posts: 9479
Joined: Sun Oct 08, 2017 7:16 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by UpperNwGuy »

rule of law guy wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 5:31 pm if you are approaching retirement, you may want to either write a will, or update your current will...and that gets you right into the sorts of questions you should be entertaining with an advisor. I would recommend a RIA/fiduciary who has some estate planning expertise. you are seeing more one stop shopping financial advisors/generational planning advisors. this is not something some Vanguard guy can do at the other end of a telephone. most RIAs are more than willing to use Vanguard funds
In other words, if you want an advisor, go local.
ScottyDog
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Mar 18, 2017 1:02 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by ScottyDog »

SmileyFace wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 11:22 am Why not consolidate with Fidelity where you can actually get a free named advisor.
I did this in Raleigh, NC where there is a local office...able to keep all VG funds, received a transfer bonus, have a no cost
local advisor-important to me for wife when I'm gone to have a live person to meet with.
morsetaper2
Posts: 69
Joined: Mon Jan 01, 2018 10:38 am
Location: Gaithersburg, MD

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by morsetaper2 »

ScottyDog wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 5:05 am
I did this in Raleigh, NC where there is a local office...able to keep all VG funds, received a transfer bonus, have a no cost
local advisor-important to me for wife when I'm gone to have a live person to meet with.
Is there a bonus at VG if I transfer my work 401-k (at Fidelity) to VG? My Fidelity 401-K is about 1/3 of my nest egg. I've been w/ VG since 1986 and I don't like the Fidelity website. It always seems to be a chore to find what I want. Not so w/ VG website.

Any bonus for transferring to VG that anyone is aware of?
blackhawkfan
Posts: 21
Joined: Wed Apr 11, 2018 5:59 pm
Location: Illinois

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by blackhawkfan »

I am a DIY'er with most assets in Vanguard. In conjunction with my brother, we used VAS for one of our mother's trust accounts. The account had enough money to meet the threshold to have a specific advisor assigned to us. This Vanguard account was used to pay monthly bills for her care.

We found the service to be worth the .30 charge. Although it is cookie cutter in nature, there is flexibility for some needs specific investing. In our case, due to taxes, we wanted the bond portion of the investments to be with tax exempt bond funds, so our advisor accommodated and made the changes.

What we liked was a single person contact, who we could get a hold of easily, that knew our circumstances, goals and objectives and answered all our questions. We had to make adjustments to automated withdrawal amounts as her care changed and we had one person to contact to make those changes. No waiting on hold for an hour, no multiple departments to talk to. We had semi-annual review calls to discuss circumstance changes and adjustments that we felt were helpful. Although I could have managed the money myself and saved the fee, having the PAS was helpful and we felt worth the money.

I would advise you to sign up for it if you think it might help you. Take it for a test drive. If you like it great. If you don't, you can always cancel it and go back to DIY'ing.
exodusNH
Posts: 10347
Joined: Wed Jan 06, 2021 7:21 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by exodusNH »

morsetaper2 wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:22 am
ScottyDog wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 5:05 am
I did this in Raleigh, NC where there is a local office...able to keep all VG funds, received a transfer bonus, have a no cost
local advisor-important to me for wife when I'm gone to have a live person to meet with.
Is there a bonus at VG if I transfer my work 401-k (at Fidelity) to VG? My Fidelity 401-K is about 1/3 of my nest egg. I've been w/ VG since 1986 and I don't like the Fidelity website. It always seems to be a chore to find what I want. Not so w/ VG website.

Any bonus for transferring to VG that anyone is aware of?
From what I've gathered, Vanguard has never offered transfer bonuses. Nor will they reimburse account closure fees from other brokerages. They don't appear to charge closure fees if you move your accounts to other brokerages.
User avatar
quantAndHold
Posts: 10141
Joined: Thu Sep 17, 2015 10:39 pm
Location: West Coast

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by quantAndHold »

I’m perfectly capable of DIYing our financial planning, so I have no use for PAS. My wife, however, has no interest or aptitude. For one thing, I saw what a hash she made of her finances before we met. She managed to make a large inheritance completely disappear in just a few years. She was spending the last of it when we were first dating.

My wife is considerably older than I am, so odds are I will outlive her. But if anything happens to me, the cheat sheet of instructions I’ve left for her says to consolidate everything at Vanguard, and pay PAS to deal with it. What she really needs is someone to invest the money sensibly and tell her how much she has to spend every year. A low cost cookie cutter approach would work fine. PAS is perfect for that.
Topic Author
Dkells4
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:31 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Dkells4 »

Wow what great feedback! Thank you all for your insight. I think I'll give it a go and like some of you said I can always cancel.
Thanks again.
happy retirement!!
User avatar
abuss368
Posts: 27850
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:33 pm
Location: Where the water is warm, the drinks are cold, and I don't know the names of the players!
Contact:

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by abuss368 »

Dkells4 wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:28 pm I have monies spread between Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab. I'm considering retiring within the next two years so I'm considering consolidating monies with Vanguard. Once I have more than $500k in Vanguard I am eligible to have a Personal Adviser. I've done fine with Vanguard funds and now as I approach retirement I may want more personal advice. I'd like someone I could contact easily for advice.
So my question is- Do any of you have opinions on having a Vanguard Personal Advisor? Is it worth the extra fees?
Ok thanks for any input.
I have family who engaged Vanguard PAS years ago and could not be happier. They are much less stressed and a better investor as a result. Vanguard reviewed everything, developed a plan, and then implemented the new portfolio strategy. They engage and review with Vanguard PAS 1 - 2 times a years or if any questions or concerns arise in between.

Vanguard moved the portfolio to the Vanguard Four Fund Portfolio of Total Stock, Total International Stock, Total Bond, and Total International Bond.

Best.
Tony
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
pkcrafter
Posts: 15461
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 11:19 am
Location: CA
Contact:

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by pkcrafter »

Let us know if you get anything other than total market, total bond, total international, total international bond.

Paul
When times are good, investors tend to forget about risk and focus on opportunity. When times are bad, investors tend to forget about opportunity and focus on risk.
User avatar
abuss368
Posts: 27850
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:33 pm
Location: Where the water is warm, the drinks are cold, and I don't know the names of the players!
Contact:

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by abuss368 »

Vanguard PAS also launched a series of new funds that are exclusive to PAS clients only.

I found it interesting as there was a dividend focus (or dividend growth) and international / global value and growth. No sector funds!

Best.
Tony
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
yourbuddy
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:09 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by yourbuddy »

A couple additional notes:

1. You can go through the initial consultation and get the 'plan' for free. Vanguard is hoping you will pay them to implement and manage the plan, but if you don't like the setup you can pass on the service and the plan is yours to keep.

2. The thing that caused us to make a hard pass on the PAS service was that you will not have direct control of your investments. From what the advisor told me, the Vanguard login will be changed to more like a read-only dashboard and you must go through the advisor to make any changes to your investments.

I understand why the advisor needs 100% control of the investments in order to implement the service, but that was a non-starter for us.

3. Having said that, if #2 above wasn't an issue, I think we would have signed up for PAS. The advisor they connected us with seemed pretty knowledgeable and seemed like an honest guy.

Kirk
yourbuddy
Posts: 5
Joined: Sun Oct 24, 2021 6:09 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by yourbuddy »

pkcrafter wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 9:46 pm Let us know if you get anything other than total market, total bond, total international, total international bond.

Paul
We were recommended a mix of BND, BNDX, VXF to balance out VOO already in our brokerage, and VXUS

So pretty much what you said...

Kirk
Clammypollack
Posts: 71
Joined: Tue Jul 28, 2020 4:47 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Clammypollack »

ScottyDog wrote: Thu Jan 27, 2022 5:05 am
SmileyFace wrote: Wed Jan 26, 2022 11:22 am Why not consolidate with Fidelity where you can actually get a free named advisor.
I did this in Raleigh, NC where there is a local office...able to keep all VG funds, received a transfer bonus, have a no cost
local advisor-important to me for wife when I'm gone to have a live person to meet with.
Is that really a personal advisor that you get in the local office? I have significant money at Fidelity and my local ‘advisor’ makes small talk with me, goes over the retirement planner which I like but he really doesn’t give me much advice beyond that. Mainly what he does is try to sell me on paying the 1% to get real advice from a real advisor at Fidelity. Am I missing something here?
ScottyDog
Posts: 44
Joined: Sat Mar 18, 2017 1:02 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by ScottyDog »

Yes--real advisor-knows I do indexing with my VG funds-met this week for new year planning-no sales push for any Fido funds.
Am very glad I made the move--again invaluable local service for a widow vs. a phone call to VG to discuss PAS options.
User avatar
abuss368
Posts: 27850
Joined: Mon Aug 03, 2009 2:33 pm
Location: Where the water is warm, the drinks are cold, and I don't know the names of the players!
Contact:

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by abuss368 »

I have seen the Vanguard PAS dashboard and tools and I liked it. Interesting analysis to show if clients are on track.

I wish it was available to all Vanguard investors without engaging PAS!

Tony
John C. Bogle: “Simplicity is the master key to financial success."
mvftw
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2020 4:07 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by mvftw »

Retiring in 5 months. Any comments about the Vanguard Digital Advisor @ .15 vs. the PAS @.30? I have $500k+
Silk McCue
Posts: 8952
Joined: Thu Feb 25, 2016 6:11 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Silk McCue »

mvftw wrote: Sat Jan 29, 2022 8:15 pm Retiring in 5 months. Any comments about the Vanguard Digital Advisor @ .15 vs. the PAS @.30? I have $500k+
What is your motivation for using Digital Advisor? Since you are retiring in 5 months I would expect that you already have your finances and a plan in order. If that isn’t the case you can certainly get feedback from folks here by starting a new post in the Asking Portfolio Questions format.

Cheers
mvftw
Posts: 12
Joined: Sun Nov 01, 2020 4:07 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by mvftw »

Just looking for an opinion...
User avatar
GerryL
Posts: 3902
Joined: Fri Sep 20, 2013 11:40 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by GerryL »

mvftw wrote: Sun Jan 30, 2022 10:15 am Just looking for an opinion...
It's always important to figure out what you hope to get from a financial advisor before going shopping for one. They offer a variety of services, and you want to make sure they are a match for what you want. When I do financial literacy presentations on investing, this is one of the tips I offer the high school students. It's no use asking, "Is this advisor/service any good?" because "good" is a relative term depending on what you need.
dbr
Posts: 46181
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:50 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by dbr »

GerryL wrote: Sun Jan 30, 2022 2:02 pm
mvftw wrote: Sun Jan 30, 2022 10:15 am Just looking for an opinion...
It's always important to figure out what you hope to get from a financial advisor before going shopping for one. They offer a variety of services, and you want to make sure they are a match for what you want. When I do financial literacy presentations on investing, this is one of the tips I offer the high school students. It's no use asking, "Is this advisor/service any good?" because "good" is a relative term depending on what you need.
So true, but this can also bring the circle back around to needing to be advised regarding what is needed and how to avoid paying for things one does not need because a salesman has convinced someone otherwise.

The hope is that a forum like this one is helpful to rectify that except for the people who don't know they need to read here.

My reaction comes from the fact that most of the people I know who think they need a financial advisor don't and are just being sold something. Starting with our parents financial advisors were not something that existed in our family, but there are many stories of people being exploited by their parents' or their siblings' financial salesmen.
User avatar
Wiggums
Posts: 7051
Joined: Thu Jan 31, 2019 7:02 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Wiggums »

We don’t use an advisor, but I do think it’s important to Limit the number of funds and accounts that you have. Keep things manageable and simple. For people with a partner who does not want to manage the portfolio, I think it makes sense switch ahead of time instead of leaving the partner to make decisions while grieving.
"I started with nothing and I still have most of it left."
dbr
Posts: 46181
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:50 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by dbr »

Wiggums wrote: Mon Jan 31, 2022 10:07 am We don’t use an advisor, but I do think it’s important to Limit the number of funds and accounts that you have. Keep things manageable and simple. For people with a partner who does not want to manage the portfolio, I think it makes sense switch ahead of time instead of leaving the partner to make decisions while grieving.
Especially since vulnerable survivors are low hanging fruit for predators. An alternative in some cases is children who in any case need to play a role in elderly affairs both financial and health.
Topic Author
Dkells4
Posts: 40
Joined: Sun Feb 07, 2021 8:31 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Dkells4 »

tibbitts wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 7:13 pm
Dkells4 wrote: Tue Jan 25, 2022 6:28 pm I've done fine with Vanguard funds and now as I approach retirement I may want more personal advice. I'd like someone I could contact easily for advice.
What would be an example of personal advice you'd expect?
Tax , RMD, Why specific investments suit my needs, etc etc
Chicagoprof
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:43 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Chicagoprof »

We are longtime DIYers, but enrolled in Vanguard PAS after my dear-departed dad (himself a long-time Boglehead) passed away. We enrolled because my dad's death complicated our situation: e.g. (1) I initially worked with the personal advisers he had been using because staying with them made some estate settlement issues easier, but then transferred our inherited assets to Vanguard and needed to think about how to unravel some investments his managers put us into that didn't match our investing style. (2) We have accumulated enough to allow my wife to retire. So we are commencing some withdrawals from our portfolio. (3) We also now have an inherited IRA with annual RMD requirements and have to think about the tax implications of this. (4) I am thinking about retiring early in a few years depending on how the winds blow in my sector (higher ed), and so have to think about healthcare financing before we qualify for Medicare.

As I contemplate these and other issues, I am frequently a victim of decision paralysis--How risk averse should we be considering we are at/near our FIRE number. Should we be 70/30, 60/40 or 50/50 asset allocation? How does inflation affect our retirement planning? What withdrawal strategy is optimal--static or VPW or something else? What the optimal withdrawal rate? What's the optimal international allocation? Should we do RMDs quarterly or monthly, etc. etc.?

Of course we have considered some of this before, but as we are nearing retirement the stakes are larger and the choices seem weightier. I have no doubt we could, with the use of this board, come to some decision on all of this. But its been a lot to deal with on top of everything else, and when we read up on each question we find ourselves going back and forth and then reading ever more without coming to a firm decision. Given our susceptibility to decision paralysis on these questions, it's been helpful having someone to just make a decision.

My plan is to eventually move to self-management after we get a handle on everything with the PAS advisor's help. I've also, FWIW, found the advisor easy to reach with questions that come up and the advice to all be very reasonable. I was upfront that I wanted to use PAS as an education/near term decision-cost reduction tool and had the medium-term goal of transitioning to running things ourselves, and the advisor was fine with that and has been good about helping educate us about what goes into Vanguard's planning decisions.

So bottom line: I like the service for someone who finds themselves struggling/feeling overwhelmed in a similarly complex situation.
Itster
Posts: 326
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 9:50 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Itster »

So I'm a little confused after reading through this thread. I've also been considering AS from Vanguard (I don't meet the $500k personal service at this point because my 401k is elsewhere). But I could really use assistance structuring a full retirement plan and not just be guided to a 4-fund portfolio. Maybe that's too much to expect for just .3, which I could understand. Is there any point to trying VAS for this or is there a better solution?
Chicagoprof
Posts: 40
Joined: Thu Jan 03, 2019 10:43 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Chicagoprof »

The do offer more than just the portfolio: Advice on budgeting for retirement; retirement timeline; withdrawal rates and strategies; tax loss harvesting; some estate planning advice. Mileage will differ on how useful you find the advice. I've found it helpful.
dbr
Posts: 46181
Joined: Sun Mar 04, 2007 8:50 am

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by dbr »

Chicagoprof wrote: Sun Apr 03, 2022 11:21 am
As I contemplate these and other issues, I am frequently a victim of decision paralysis--How risk averse should we be considering we are at/near our FIRE number. Should we be 70/30, 60/40 or 50/50 asset allocation? How does inflation affect our retirement planning? What withdrawal strategy is optimal--static or VPW or something else? What the optimal withdrawal rate? What's the optimal international allocation? Should we do RMDs quarterly or monthly, etc. etc.?

A general comment on those observations is that results are not very sensitive to details. Unpredictable variability wipes out hoped for precision and accuracy of predictions. Many choices exist only because they exist and not because they mean anything.

Attempting to find optimal outcomes is tilting at windmills which produces lots of angst but little in practical results.

All of the examples you list above are of little practical consequence excepting perhaps the issue of inflation.

A good learning tool that should help with appreciation for unpredictability would be this one: https://engaging-data.com/visualizing-4-rule/

In that sort of tool inflation is included and sampled according to its historical incidence. If you are inclined to thing that today is unusual, there are period in history that are more extreme than now. Everything is always different and yet always still the same.
Itster
Posts: 326
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 9:50 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Itster »

Chicagoprof wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 10:59 am The do offer more than just the portfolio: Advice on budgeting for retirement; retirement timeline; withdrawal rates and strategies; tax loss harvesting; some estate planning advice. Mileage will differ on how useful you find the advice. I've found it helpful.
Thank you. I will at least consider it, along with a referral I hope to have soon for an advisor in my area.
User avatar
Tulip
Posts: 30
Joined: Mon Apr 01, 2013 1:11 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Tulip »

Keep it simple... Use a diversified 3 or 4 fund portfolio, and you'll have no need to pay for outside advice.

Many years ago, when I first started using Vanguard, I had my own Flagship representative and had the option of free portfolio asset allocation consultations on a periodic basis. I did it twice, just to see what they would recommend. I received a recommendation for Total Stock Market, Total International Stock, and Total Bond Market both times.

I'm a DIY investor, as I don't believe anyone cares as much about my money as I do. So I do my own research, and long ago settled on Jack Bogle's approach. I do use Total Stock Market, but I'm in a high income tax state with taxable accounts, so I also use state muni bonds, along with two other Vanguard funds.
User avatar
BL
Posts: 9874
Joined: Sun Mar 01, 2009 1:28 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by BL »

I would only consider PAS if I wanted assistance, not any local "advisors" (salespeople) that I have ever heard of or their companies.

I understand PAS is now offering additional funds, beyond their classic 4 low-ER funds) that are more costly (higher ERs) and probably don't add any benefits. That disappoints me.
Itster
Posts: 326
Joined: Mon Aug 06, 2012 9:50 pm

Re: Vanguard Personal Advisor opinions

Post by Itster »

BL wrote: Mon Jul 11, 2022 12:57 pm I would only consider PAS if I wanted assistance, not any local "advisors" (salespeople) that I have ever heard of or their companies.

I understand PAS is now offering additional funds, beyond their classic 4 low-ER funds) that are more costly (higher ERs) and probably don't add any benefits. That disappoints me.
You can get referrals to sidestep having to go with a local unknown, if you absolutely need consultation.
Post Reply