Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

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Cheez-It Guy
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Cheez-It Guy »

Seasonal wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 7:17 am
Cheez-It Guy wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 7:22 pm Got to remember that this site's user base is cross-generational, but it's a bit surprising how many seem to prefer to call and wait in a telephone hold loop when given a better option. It's impractical to staff a call center for peak load. On slack days, what are the reps supposed to do? They still have to be paid.
It may be possible to staff more heavily at times that are predicted to be busier. Staffing does not have to be uniform across time.
Not sure how satisfactory that would be for the people already dissatisfied with the experience level of the reps. I don't think it's the same as seasonal staffing for UPS and FedEx.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Seasonal »

Cheez-It Guy wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 7:26 am
Seasonal wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 7:17 am
Cheez-It Guy wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 7:22 pm Got to remember that this site's user base is cross-generational, but it's a bit surprising how many seem to prefer to call and wait in a telephone hold loop when given a better option. It's impractical to staff a call center for peak load. On slack days, what are the reps supposed to do? They still have to be paid.
It may be possible to staff more heavily at times that are predicted to be busier. Staffing does not have to be uniform across time.
Not sure how satisfactory that would be for the people already dissatisfied with the experience level of the reps. I don't think it's the same as seasonal staffing for UPS and FedEx.
Market related financial services tends to be busier certain times of the day (opening and especially closing of trading), week (Mondays) and month (beginning) rather than seasonal.

I recently had to deal with Wells Fargo. They answered quickly at times Vanguard is non-existent (weekends) or slow (see above). I asked a rep about this and was told busy times are predictable and they arranged schedules to deal with that. Quality seemed uniform.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by wander »

anon_investor wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 6:59 am Really wish they reintroduced the ability to convert mutual funds to ETF online. They had a pilot program for it, so they have the ability to do it.
Agree. I have international REIT mutual funds that I need to call them in the future to convert to ETFs and avoid the selling fee. But, I am not the guy who cares to do it now. I will when I withdraw the money in retirement. If by that time, they remove the fee, then I don't even need to call. Maybe they are technically challenge or incomptance to allow investors to convert the mutual funds to ETF online. They allow switching from regular to Admiral funds, so hopefully they will catchup with technology by that time. :D
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by anon_investor »

wander wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:31 pm
anon_investor wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 6:59 am Really wish they reintroduced the ability to convert mutual funds to ETF online. They had a pilot program for it, so they have the ability to do it.
Agree. I have international REIT mutual funds that I need to call them in the future to convert to ETFs and avoid the selling fee. But, I am not the guy who cares to do it now. I will when I withdraw the money in retirement. If by that time, they remove the fee, then I don't even need to call. Maybe they are technically challenge or incomptance to allow investors to convert the mutual funds to ETF online. They allow switching from regular to Admiral funds, so hopefully they will catchup with technology by that time. :D
They definitely can do it technologically, since they previously had the option...
62nc
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Does Vanguard answer their phone?

Post by 62nc »

Have a Roth there, and was calling to inquire about if they could OTC stock access for my accounts, as I've seen that on other threads. But after 50 minutes I gave up.

Any recommendations on other ways to get through to them? Or alternatively ways to be able to purchase OTC stocks?
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by LadyGeek »

^^^ I merged 62nc's thread into the ongoing discussion.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Broken Man 1999 »

anon_investor wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:38 pm
wander wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 12:31 pm
anon_investor wrote: Sun Dec 06, 2020 6:59 am Really wish they reintroduced the ability to convert mutual funds to ETF online. They had a pilot program for it, so they have the ability to do it.
Agree. I have international REIT mutual funds that I need to call them in the future to convert to ETFs and avoid the selling fee. But, I am not the guy who cares to do it now. I will when I withdraw the money in retirement. If by that time, they remove the fee, then I don't even need to call. Maybe they are technically challenge or incomptance to allow investors to convert the mutual funds to ETF online. They allow switching from regular to Admiral funds, so hopefully they will catchup with technology by that time. :D
They definitely can do it technologically, since they previously had the option...
I have done several MF to ETF conversions in the last few weeks. And, I actually did a couple by myself a while back.

For whatever reason it seems that Vanguard finds the manual conversion better, perhaps some of the investors were having issues. I don't know, when I did it myself everything worked fine. Maybe Vanguard figured preventing issues ties up staffing less than straightening out issues.

One thing I think must have been happening was making sure the investors knew it was a one-way process, MF to ETF only. When I did three conversions the last time I called, the rep read the boiler plate for EACH account converted, not just each owner's conversion. So I heard it for one of my accounts, and two of DWs accounts, all on one call.

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Re: What's Up With Vanguard?

Post by usagi »

stan1 wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 2:20 pm
Mian wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 2:13 pm
goblue100 wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 1:35 pm People complaining about poor service at a discount provider of any service seem funny to me. If you want to be treated like a high roller, you need to pay high roller fees. Doesn't matter if that is a Hotel or a restaurant or investment house. Do you go to McDonalds and complain about the lack of table cloths?
Not about wanting to be treated special. Rather, I would like the company where I keep all my investments (and have, for many years) to treat me better than my electric utility company. Is that asking too much?
Vanguard has changed. They have been on a decades long path to lower costs and now it is to the point where they can't provide the service you once had at no additional cost. Continuing the restaurant analogy Vanguard used to be Olive Garden (and even had a few perks like free bread sticks) but now they really are McDonalds with counter service not waiters. And since it is post-COVID McDonalds you don't get free drink refills as a perk any more, either.
Add into the mix the simple fact their products are now also rans in several areas. Fidelity had zero cost funds now and for taxable spaces there are ETFs like ITOT with lower ERs than Vanguard. Simply put Vanguard is no longer the low cost leader and it never was the bellwether for customer service.

I have thought for some time that Vanguard's ultimate destiny is the non-retail side. Franky I am not impressed with their 401K plan administration either but it seems to be their destiny and where they can still do some good.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by backpacker61 »

stan1 wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 7:27 pm Ah, but Fidelity is quite different. They still have a lot of clients in 80-200 basis point mutual funds who have generally NOT seen expense ratio reductions and continue to subsidize the freeloaders in index funds. Those investors are paying a lot and should get good service. Because Vanguard is ostensibly owned by the funds they can't get away with that type of cost shifting but it is easy to do at a family owned business like Fidelity.
And they'll be gunning to get you (or your widow or kids; when you're worm food) into those 80-200 BP funds, or a 1+% AUM account model at some point.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Dude2 »

^^^
Couldn't agree more. The marketing and hype surrounding any of these companies, the literature they put out advocating active management, etc. -- these are all reasons to not do business with them (speaking as a Boglehead). Vanguard is essentially a non-profit.

The point of this thread, though, is that there is a lower limit to cost savings...
Then ’tis like the breath of an unfee’d lawyer.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by SmileyFace »

Dude2 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 6:12 am ^^^
Couldn't agree more. The marketing and hype surrounding any of these companies, the literature they put out advocating active management, etc. -- these are all reasons to not do business with them (speaking as a Boglehead). Vanguard is essentially a non-profit.

The point of this thread, though, is that there is a lower limit to cost savings...
I have accounts at Fidelity, Schab, and Vanguard - and have for years. Between the three the only company that is peddling management / additional service to me is Vanguard.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by lostdog »

galawdawg wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 10:41 am If you are considering other brokerage options, it may be worth your time to call your local E*TRADE office (if there is one near you) to speak with an advisor. E*TRADE currently has a targeted promotion that pays out $3,500 on a $1 million transfer. https://us.etrade.com/what-we-offer/how ... ks/winback

But since it is a targeted offer, you'll need to see if E*TRADE would be willing to work with you on maximizing bonus opportunities. They may even be willing to match the targeted offer for you. When we moved to E*TRADE, the highest bonus offer available to anyone was $2,500. Our local advisor recommended that we move our portfolio in two stages. The first transfer was $1 million for the $2,500 bonus and the remainder we transferred over a few months later when he alerted us to a new bonus offer for existing customers.

If E*TRADE continues to maintain the same excellent level of customer service, along with the other benefits and services they offer (including no transaction fees on most Vanguard mutual funds), I will be a very, very happy customer!

:sharebeer
If I were to pass, my wife is to call Vanguard PAS.

Does e-trade have something similar? Would they try to steer her into expensive managed funds?
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Dude2 »

SmileyFace wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 6:29 am I have accounts at Fidelity, Schab, and Vanguard - and have for years. Between the three the only company that is peddling management / additional service to me is Vanguard.
Understand you are getting bothered. Sorry to hear that. But are they lying to you? Are they trying to move your money into high expense managed funds? Trying to churn your money? (stuff like that?) I'd be surprised if they were.
Then ’tis like the breath of an unfee’d lawyer.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by SmileyFace »

Dude2 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:29 am
SmileyFace wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 6:29 am I have accounts at Fidelity, Schab, and Vanguard - and have for years. Between the three the only company that is peddling management / additional service to me is Vanguard.
Understand you are getting bothered. Sorry to hear that. But are they lying to you? Are they trying to move your money into high expense managed funds? Trying to churn your money? (stuff like that?) I'd be surprised if they were.
It doesn't bother me. On many of these threads folks seem to chime in and say something along the lines of "Well, I know Vanguard provides poor service, but if you go with someone else they will pressure you into other stuff that will cost you money". In my experience this is plain NOT true. I have roughly equal amounts at all three I mentioned (plus used to have holding at Etrade). The only one that provides me a free named advisor is Fidelity - I have talked with her a couple of times and she has NEVER brought up an expensive product nor tried to get me to change anything. In fact - when I told her I was going to start buying ITOT in taxable she endorsed it (didn't even try to sway me to a Fidelity Fund or ETF). None of the other three have ever tried to sell me an expensive product over the last 2 decades. Meanwhile - Vanguard has sent me emails on PAS and I am faced with a PAS splash screen often when I log in. Easy to ignore but they are the only ones doing that.
So the FUD that "Oh boy - we should continue to put up with poor service from Vanguard because if we move to any of the others they will try to sell us expensive products" is far from true with my 2 decades having accounts across 4 different holders (forgot to mention Etrade in original post). And even if one of the others did happen to try to sell you an expensive product - do we not know how to say No.

In summary:
The tag line "we need to put up with Poor service with Vanguard to keep our costs low" is misinformation - Pure and Simple.


What may have been true 40 years ago - is no longer the case.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by SmileyFace »

backpacker61 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 5:57 am
And they'll be gunning to get you (or your widow or kids; when you're worm food) into those 80-200 BP funds, or a 1+% AUM account model at some point.
This Vanguard-Fan FUD should stop.
See my story above - even when I baited my Fidelity Advisor there was not attempt to do anything.
Misinformation.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by backpacker61 »

SmileyFace wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:50 am
backpacker61 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 5:57 am
And they'll be gunning to get you (or your widow or kids; when you're worm food) into those 80-200 BP funds, or a 1+% AUM account model at some point.
This Vanguard-Fan FUD should stop.
See my story above - even when I baited my Fidelity Advisor there was not attempt to do anything.
Misinformation.
And others, with accounts at Fidelity, have reported differently, in these very forums.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by galawdawg »

lostdog wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 6:47 am
galawdawg wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 10:41 am If you are considering other brokerage options, it may be worth your time to call your local E*TRADE office (if there is one near you) to speak with an advisor. E*TRADE currently has a targeted promotion that pays out $3,500 on a $1 million transfer. https://us.etrade.com/what-we-offer/how ... ks/winback

But since it is a targeted offer, you'll need to see if E*TRADE would be willing to work with you on maximizing bonus opportunities. They may even be willing to match the targeted offer for you. When we moved to E*TRADE, the highest bonus offer available to anyone was $2,500. Our local advisor recommended that we move our portfolio in two stages. The first transfer was $1 million for the $2,500 bonus and the remainder we transferred over a few months later when he alerted us to a new bonus offer for existing customers.

If E*TRADE continues to maintain the same excellent level of customer service, along with the other benefits and services they offer (including no transaction fees on most Vanguard mutual funds), I will be a very, very happy customer!

:sharebeer
If I were to pass, my wife is to call Vanguard PAS.

Does e-trade have something similar? Would they try to steer her into expensive managed funds?
I don't believe E*TRADE has a low-cost AUM-fee based advisory service. And while I have only been with E*TRADE a little over a year, I have yet to receive ANY solicitation to change my current investments. (Unlike Vanguard who bombarded us with emails and we were forced to deal with an obnoxious banner ad and pop-up evertime we logged in to the website). That's not to say they won't solicit us in the future or don't solicit others, but so far, no sales pitches.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by SmileyFace »

backpacker61 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:52 am
SmileyFace wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:50 am
backpacker61 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 5:57 am
And they'll be gunning to get you (or your widow or kids; when you're worm food) into those 80-200 BP funds, or a 1+% AUM account model at some point.
This Vanguard-Fan FUD should stop.
See my story above - even when I baited my Fidelity Advisor there was not attempt to do anything.
Misinformation.
And others, with accounts at Fidelity, have reported differently, in these very forums.
All the complaints I see of late seem to be of poor Vanguard service. Most of the stories I see of folks being taken advantage of involved someone like Edward Jones. Fidelity is not Edward Jones. At some point folks need to realize that Vanguard is no longer the only option for low-cost investing. Times have changed. In the case of Fidelity and Schwab I see more and more signs they have changed for the better - in the case of Vanguard I see more and more signs they have changed for the worse.
Each person can decide for themselves - My opinion is that if a company takes away an option that used to be easily accomplished online and expects you to do by phone (Fund to ETF conversion) - they should at least have someone available to answer the phone.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by stan1 »

SmileyFace wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:58 am In the case of Fidelity and Schwab I see more and more signs they have changed for the better - in the case of Vanguard I see more and more signs they have changed for the worse.
Sorry but Schwab does not get a pass from me for forcing their Robovisor clients into low yielding cash accounts so they can invest the money elsewhere for their own profit. You can say the people they did that to should have made better decisions, but if Schwab had done that to your parents or kids I don't think you'd be real happy.

Likewise at Fidelity we don't hear the side of the people invested paying 1% AUM and 100 basis points. They aren't represented on this forum. I suspect they aren't happy subsidizing the free loaders. Fidelity doesn't exactly tell them who pays for the expenses of the Zero fund but I can guarantee Abby Johnson isn't cutting a personal check every month to subsidize it herself.

They are all for profit and have different ways to make money for their investors/owners/executives. None are charities.
Each person can decide for themselves - My opinion is that if a company takes away an option that used to be easily accomplished online and expects you to do by phone (Fund to ETF conversion) - they should at least have someone available to answer the phone.
I guess I missed when it was online and self service, but I think the issue here is that clients were doing the conversion then having regrets so they have them call to make sure they know what will happen (like losing automatic investing). I'm sure that if Vanguard had a simple two click conversion process online (start, are you sure?) there would be threads here about how people were being baited into the evil temptations of speculation by making it too easy to convert from Jack Bogle's beloved mutual funds to the devil's ETFs.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by jimkinny »

goingup wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 10:29 am Send a secure message with your question and you'll either get an answer or a call back. I would rather do that than wait on the phone. It's year-end in Covid-times and many call centers are a mess.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by galawdawg »

In some of these threads that discuss the experiences of Bogleheads with Vanguard customer service, technology and other issues that some posters opine that these "complaints" can't be too much of an issue since net inflows to Vanguard keep increasing.

I noticed that Bloomberg had an article yesterday entitled Vanguard Makes Rare Retreat as Price War It Started Takes a Toll. (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles ... kes-a-toll)

Selected portions of the article:
Net flows to Vanguard’s funds slowed in 2020 as rivals continue to roll out similar products and amid the rise of so-called robo advisers and almost-free trading.

As Vanguard charts a course through the storm, it’s ditched business lines, closed overseas offices and seen senior executives depart. Now the firm is swiveling to focus more squarely on what it knows best: catering to individual investors.

It’s no help that competition in retail investing is fiercer than ever, with customers expecting virtually-free experiences at a range of firms.

Amid heightened competition among low-cost money managers, Vanguard has made a series of moves this year rolling back its global ambitions. It withdrew from Hong Kong and Japan, and returned $21 billion in managed assets to government clients in China. It shuttered most of its Australia institutional business. Another blow came last week, when Vanguard lost its mandate to run at least $590 million in Taiwan government pension and insurance assets. The sum was redeemed in part because of the firm’s “unusual moves” in Asia, according to a Bureau of Labor Funds update.

As it adjusts, Vanguard is doubling down on managing money for individual investors, setting up a potential price war for investment advice. It’s promoting a robo-adviser that selects portfolios made up of Vanguard ETFs. For those with about $50,000 or more to invest, Vanguard pushes a reduced-cost advisory service with access to a human via phone, email or video conference. Since setting up a joint venture with China’s Ant Group Co. last December, the duo unveiled a robo adviser aimed at customers with at least 800 yuan ($122) to invest, which recommends portfolios built from 6,000 mutual funds.
As I have opined, I believe Vanguard lost it's way a number of years ago. It took its eye off the ball and now is trying to play catch-up. The article notes that Vanguard is shifting its focus back on individual investors, but it appears that they are doing so as to those investors willing to pay to "upgrade" from DIY investing to advisory services.

And having read articles in the WSJ and elsewhere that discusses the requirement that China imposes on their businesses to furnish customer data to the Chinese government and Chinese Communist Party, I wonder what the joint venture with the Ant Group for the Vanguard Robo Advisor service means for the safety and privacy of Vanguard investor data.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by galawdawg »

Dude2 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 6:12 am Vanguard is essentially a non-profit.
Respectfully, that is not true. Vanguard is not a non-profit. It is a for-profit company. Theoretically, the profits are paid to the funds which return to the shareholders (fund investors) in the form of lower expense ratios. But because Vanguard is probably the least transparent investment company when it comes to disclosure of income and expense to ownership (Vanguard investors), we don't know how much money that would otherwise be profit is instead redirected expenses via the Vanguard management profit-sharing (Partnership Plan) and executive compensation. But I've mentioned that in other Vanguard threads, along with posting publicly available information, so I won't rehash it here. :happy
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by azanon »

Calling is pretty old school. They have an internal email system, and going on memory, I think they respond within 2 business days. It usually worked for me.

Probably for someone that is old school, and wants that almost immediate response, Vanguard probably isn't the best brokerage for that....

Even personal advisory services where you're going to shell out 0.30% AUM, from what I understand, you don't just call and get an immediate response. I believe they want you to make an appointment and from what I've heard, sometimes it's weeks in advance.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by SmileyFace »

stan1 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:11 am
None are charities.
Yup - and this includes Vanguard. That's what's great about this forum - we have all come together as a group of DIY investors that discuss "Investing Advice Inspired by Jack Bogle." Decades ago the only place you may have been able to do this was Vanguard. Today there are many options available.
Regarding Schwab and the Robovisor experience you allude to - I don't know anything about it. I am not sure if Robo services would be something Bogle would endorse. Certainly it's also not something Schwab has ever talked to me about or marketed to me but if they did - I wouldn't have bit. To me - it's easier to simply go about my index investing and do my own TLH (if I want to) when the situation arises
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by SmileyFace »

galawdawg wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:37 am
Dude2 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 6:12 am Vanguard is essentially a non-profit.
Respectfully, that is not true. Vanguard is not a non-profit. It is a for-profit company. Theoretically, the profits are paid to the funds which return to the shareholders (fund investors) in the form of lower expense ratios. But because Vanguard is probably the least transparent investment company when it comes to disclosure of income and expense to ownership (Vanguard investors), we don't know how much money that would otherwise be profit is instead redirected expenses via the Vanguard management profit-sharing (Partnership Plan) and executive compensation. But I've mentioned that in other Vanguard threads, along with posting publicly available information, so I won't rehash it here. :happy
Vanguard has a pretty good employee-profit-sharing plan from what I have heard. Many of the profits go to Execs but they also filter down to other salaried employees. They certainly are not a "non-profit" in any case.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by galawdawg »

azanon wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:41 am Calling is pretty old school. They have an internal email system, and going on memory, I think they respond within 2 business days. It usually worked for me.

Probably for someone that is old school, and wants that almost immediate response, Vanguard probably isn't the best brokerage for that....

Even personal advisory services where you're going to shell out 0.30% AUM, from what I understand, you don't just call and get an immediate response. I believe they want you to make an appointment and from what I've heard, sometimes it's weeks in advance.
I too prefer email (or secure messages) but the effectiveness of that method of communication depends on Vanguard as well.

During the last year or two I was with Vanguard, I sent several secure messages to my Vanguard representative. Twice he called me instead of sending a written response to the message. While that is okay if I am available, once he called and I was in a meeting at work and the second time he called, I was driving. So I had to call him and play some phone tag until we were able to connect. Another secure message I sent after Vanguard improperly froze my entire account after completion of a partial ACATS transfer of a single holding received a reply by secure message, which instructed me how to link my bank account to my Vanguard account. Never mind that my bank account was already properly linked to Vanguard. :oops: It was clear that the Vanguard representative had either not even read my secure message OR did poorly in reading comprehension in school. (Vanguard did lift the improper freeze after I called, put on my attorney hat, and read the applicable section of the FINRA rules to them). But in those three instances, Vanguard either didn't or couldn't handle the inquiry by secure message and phone calls were required. (A couple other secure messages were handled fine.)

Of course, YMMV.

On the other hand, I can directly email my E*TRADE representative and/or the branch representative with any questions or concerns and I receive a timely, effective and thorough response, usually within an hour or two. Or, if I prefer to call, I have direct phone lines for both and if they are unavailable, calls are very promptly returned. Or, I can call the E*TRADE toll-free number which is usually answered within a few minutes. :happy
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by lostdog »

galawdawg wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:56 am
lostdog wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 6:47 am
galawdawg wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 10:41 am If you are considering other brokerage options, it may be worth your time to call your local E*TRADE office (if there is one near you) to speak with an advisor. E*TRADE currently has a targeted promotion that pays out $3,500 on a $1 million transfer. https://us.etrade.com/what-we-offer/how ... ks/winback

But since it is a targeted offer, you'll need to see if E*TRADE would be willing to work with you on maximizing bonus opportunities. They may even be willing to match the targeted offer for you. When we moved to E*TRADE, the highest bonus offer available to anyone was $2,500. Our local advisor recommended that we move our portfolio in two stages. The first transfer was $1 million for the $2,500 bonus and the remainder we transferred over a few months later when he alerted us to a new bonus offer for existing customers.

If E*TRADE continues to maintain the same excellent level of customer service, along with the other benefits and services they offer (including no transaction fees on most Vanguard mutual funds), I will be a very, very happy customer!

:sharebeer
If I were to pass, my wife is to call Vanguard PAS.

Does e-trade have something similar? Would they try to steer her into expensive managed funds?
I don't believe E*TRADE has a low-cost AUM-fee based advisory service. And while I have only been with E*TRADE a little over a year, I have yet to receive ANY solicitation to change my current investments. (Unlike Vanguard who bombarded us with emails and we were forced to deal with an obnoxious banner ad and pop-up evertime we logged in to the website). That's not to say they won't solicit us in the future or don't solicit others, but so far, no sales pitches.
Thanks for the reply. :happy
Stocks-80% || Bonds-20% || Taxable-VTI/VXUS || IRA-VT/BNDW
azanon
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by azanon »

galawdawg wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 9:29 am
azanon wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 8:41 am Calling is pretty old school. They have an internal email system, and going on memory, I think they respond within 2 business days. It usually worked for me.

Probably for someone that is old school, and wants that almost immediate response, Vanguard probably isn't the best brokerage for that....

Even personal advisory services where you're going to shell out 0.30% AUM, from what I understand, you don't just call and get an immediate response. I believe they want you to make an appointment and from what I've heard, sometimes it's weeks in advance.
I too prefer email (or secure messages) but the effectiveness of that method of communication depends on Vanguard as well.

During the last year or two I was with Vanguard, I sent several secure messages to my Vanguard representative. Twice he called me instead of sending a written response to the message. While that is okay if I am available, once he called and I was in a meeting at work and the second time he called, I was driving. So I had to call him and play some phone tag until we were able to connect. Another secure message I sent after Vanguard improperly froze my entire account after completion of a partial ACATS transfer of a single holding received a reply by secure message, which instructed me how to link my bank account to my Vanguard account. Never mind that my bank account was already properly linked to Vanguard. :oops: It was clear that the Vanguard representative had either not even read my secure message OR did poorly in reading comprehension in school. (Vanguard did lift the improper freeze after I called, put on my attorney hat, and read the applicable section of the FINRA rules to them). But in those three instances, Vanguard either didn't or couldn't handle the inquiry by secure message and phone calls were required. (A couple other secure messages were handled fine.)

Of course, YMMV.

On the other hand, I can directly email my E*TRADE representative and/or the branch representative with any questions or concerns and I receive a timely, effective and thorough response, usually within an hour or two. Or, if I prefer to call, I have direct phone lines for both and if they are unavailable, calls are very promptly returned. Or, I can call the E*TRADE toll-free number which is usually answered within a few minutes. :happy
Going forward, it should rarely if ever be a problem for me. I have about 10 years left of employment- just contribute to the iras. Afterwards, set up monthly withdrawals. I have a TSP but no real need to move that to vanguard.

Guess im just saying for my boring life, 99.99% of the time no need to call or email them. Buy this and sell that - no need to talk to anyone to do that.
fanofjack
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by fanofjack »

I have had the same problem for months. I learned to say “transfer 401K funds into Vanguard” when the computer voice asks what I am calling about. Next when they ask if it is for an amount over $300,000.00 I say “yes”. (I am not being honest, but I have no guilt about not being honest to a synthesized voice). I have found that my request to transfer funds to Vanguard puts me in contact with a human being immediately.
Sadly, this difficulty in reaching Vanguard has been happening for months. I cannot imagine such a “breach of service to the client” under the leadership of Jack Bogle.

Fanofjack
Chip
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Chip »

SmileyFace wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 7:58 am All the complaints I see of late seem to be of poor Vanguard service. Most of the stories I see of folks being taken advantage of involved someone like Edward Jones. Fidelity is not Edward Jones.
I have had all of our accounts at Fidelity for 15+ years and have been very happy with the service.

But I did have a bad experience a few years ago when I sent a friend to the local Fidelity office. Short version: I had spent hours with the friend discussing what she should do with her investments (3 fund portfolio) but the Fido rep talked her into 16 funds, many of them high fee. Including 3 muni bond funds when the friend was paying no federal taxes.

Longer version of the story here: viewtopic.php?p=4084874#p4084874
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Sheepdog
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Sheepdog »

Called Monday. First, I was on hold for about 20 minutes. Then I was transferred to an agent whose answering machine said "I am away from my desk. Ask for another agent", so I went back, had to call again and repeated everything. I was put on hold again for about 20 minutes until I finally received an agent.

And the purpose of the call was to have them correct THEIR ERROR In the addressing of a QCD check in which it was made out to my name instead of the charity. So I wasted nearly an hour holding the phone to correct their mistake.
Grrrrr.
Unless you try to do something beyond what you have already mastered you will never grow. (Ralph Waldo Emerson)
surfinagin
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by surfinagin »

Had to call Vanguard rep yesterday AM -no delay.
Unfortunately, call was to address an uncorrected error on paper monthly statements-
A Vanguard fund investment is missing from paper statements, though accounted for online.
Rep did a quick investigation/contacted another group, found no explanation -they are working on it.
Not a confidence-builder.
GS
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by GS »

Add me to the list of longtime Vanguard clients who can not get anyone on the phone.I have been a Vanguard client for 40 years following John Bogle's guidelines and have never had a problem. Dealing with them now to transfer beneficiary benefits from a deceased relative, who also was a long time Vanguard client, to my wife has been a gut wrenching experience. The department that deals with this does not make calls back to you if you have a problem. You have to call up and sit in"Hold Hell" to try to get somebody in that department. They do not answer emails sent to their email address. They blame a dysfunctional phone system that "all clients are complaining about". They have made mistakes on account numbers. I can go on and on. They did say they are upgrading their phone system after the first of the year. i hope they get together after the New Year.
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beyou
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by beyou »

I would like to know whether your experience was impacted by your service tier. Seems the only remaining theoretical benefit of Flagship etc status is possible improved support.

I really don’t like to contact any firm by phone, but did send a series of emails on a topic to Vanguard support recently. Answers were fast enough, and surprisingly helpful and showed awareness of prior discussions with support. They actually kept notes, read them and considered how they apply to my current request. I was surprised given all the negative comments online.

In general I find it is so common today to wait on hold, and then get highly variable levels of knowledge and efficiency when contacting most large companies. Contacted a major bank this week, fast to get a person but they could not solve my problem after suggesting many obvious things I had already done. Asked me to call a different phone number and start again. So fast pickup is not the only measure of success.
SxSW
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by SxSW »

tibbitts wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 8:55 am Well, remember, Bogleheads have always insisted on being assigned only the most experienced reps - like ones Bogle brought with him from Wellington.
Bogle has been gone for 20 years. How many employees from his era do you think are still working there?
Colorado14
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Colorado14 »

I rarely have to call Vanguard but needed to do so today. Wait time was approximately 33 minutes. The associate who assisted was very knowledgeable and helpful and I am confident that he resolved my issue. Certainly the wait time was not ideal, but having an informed/knowledgeable person to talk to was a plus.
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by lazynovice »

I have called Vanguard twice in the last two weeks. Both times I waited less than 1 minute. Both reps were professional and knowledgeable. I am transferring money in from another brokerage and that may be why.
AZAttorney11
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by AZAttorney11 »

Sheepdog wrote: Wed Dec 09, 2020 4:58 am Called Monday. First, I was on hold for about 20 minutes. Then I was transferred to an agent whose answering machine said "I am away from my desk. Ask for another agent", so I went back, had to call again and repeated everything. I was put on hold again for about 20 minutes until I finally received an agent.

And the purpose of the call was to have them correct THEIR ERROR In the addressing of a QCD check in which it was made out to my name instead of the charity. So I wasted nearly an hour holding the phone to correct their mistake.
Grrrrr.
Did you end up moving accounts to Schwab? I remember your prior post about that.
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quantAndHold
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by quantAndHold »

It helps to call on Wednesday or Thursday. Also, calling in the afternoon (west coast time) seems to work better than the morning. I’ve heard that early morning east coast time is good too, but I’m not up that early. Probably why it’s a good time to call.

I had to call them in October. I was dreading it, but the guy picked up on the first ring, was able to solve my problem without involving any other people, and I went away happy. I assume December, January, and around tax times are when you don’t want to need to call.
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Re: Does Vanguard answer their phone?

Post by MishkaWorries »

62nc wrote: Mon Dec 07, 2020 12:34 pm Have a Roth there, and was calling to inquire about if they could OTC stock access for my accounts, as I've seen that on other threads. But after 50 minutes I gave up.

Any recommendations on other ways to get through to them? Or alternatively ways to be able to purchase OTC stocks?
I think your question got lost in the merged thread. I can't speak to over the counter issue but I can say I had good luck calling Vanguard today. I called and they said wait times are about 30 minutes and gave me an option of leaving a callback number.

I left my number and they called back about 25 minutes later. The rep was nice and knowledgeable.

Or maybe try to send a secure message. Many people on here like that choice.
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Sheepdog
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Sheepdog »

AZAttorney11 wrote: Tue Dec 15, 2020 6:43 pm

Did you end up moving accounts to Schwab? I remember your prior post about that.
That post was about my wife moving her account to Schwab. not mine. She wanted to move because she wanted someone local to assist her face to face after I die as she will not use a computer for anything and she feels that using the telephone was too impersonal. She did move her account. I did not move mine, but I have considered doing so later for her benefit. However, her first communication experience was not good. She may want to move back to Vanguard because of poor and inaccurate communication ( from the company, not the agent as he was away for a week. I may tell you about that someday, but not now.}
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dogagility
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by dogagility »

backpacker61 wrote: Tue Dec 08, 2020 5:57 am
stan1 wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 7:27 pm Ah, but Fidelity is quite different. They still have a lot of clients in 80-200 basis point mutual funds who have generally NOT seen expense ratio reductions and continue to subsidize the freeloaders in index funds. Those investors are paying a lot and should get good service. Because Vanguard is ostensibly owned by the funds they can't get away with that type of cost shifting but it is easy to do at a family owned business like Fidelity.
And they'll be gunning to get you (or your widow or kids; when you're worm food) into those 80-200 BP funds, or a 1+% AUM account model at some point.
Resisting the upsell is a bit like resisting the urge to sell off stocks this past March. All good Bogleheads have this intestinal fortitude! :wink:
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H22
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by H22 »

Currently on hold. Wait time has been advertised as 20-30 minutes.
drzzzzz
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by drzzzzz »

Tuesday I decided to convert mutual funds to ETF shares at Vanguard. Called in the afternoon knowing that it would likely be busy and instead of getting our personal flagship rep, got the phone tree. After saying mutual fund transaction so the call could be directed correctly (or so I thought), I waited 24 minutes until I spoke to someone who verified my information (SS#) that they already had and was told they couldn't help me since they were just a telephone operator and would transfer me to the correct person. The next wait was only a few minutes since it was internal, but the person said I really needed the stock trade people, not her and transferred me to another person. After another 34 minute wait, I spoke to a rep who was both efficient, knowledgable, and transacted what I wanted done. However I wasnt too happy about not being able to speak to our rep and how to get this done more easily. One of the reasons that I was converting the funds was in case we decided to transfer to another fiduciary (which is likely) based on the deteriorating and frustrating level of service.

I also had set up a previously scheduled call on Monday with our rep (was set up about 5 days prior through their scheduling service since not many times were available with him). He is a new rep to us and I asked him some pretty basic questions, such as what is the difference between flagship and flagship select. His response was to pull up their website and read it to me outlining what extras flagship select offers (none that I could tell). I also asked how to merge two identically titled brokerage accounts into one and he said he would get back to me about how to do that.
rkhusky
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by rkhusky »

Howie wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 2:40 pm Currently on hold. Wait time has been advertised as 20-30 minutes.
Still on hold?
Seasonal
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Seasonal »

drzzzzz wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 4:38 pm Tuesday I decided to convert mutual funds to ETF shares at Vanguard. Called in the afternoon knowing that it would likely be busy and instead of getting our personal flagship rep, got the phone tree. After saying mutual fund transaction so the call could be directed correctly (or so I thought)
Generally, if you are Flagship Select, any call to Vanguard will be routed to your rep and the question about why you called won't affect anything. In other words, even if you call a department directly, it will still go to your rep who will then have to coordinate with that department. Calls will generally have you go through voice verification, other than calls to your rep's direct line. If your rep is not available, the call will go to whoever answers general calls.

There are, of course, exceptions, as they would not want to be consistent.
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illumination
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by illumination »

Nobody should put up with service like that where you call for days and can't get through. Vote with your feet and leave. That's really beyond the pale.

And people seem to have this idea that any of the "other" places are just full of conartists that want to steal your money.
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Cheez-It Guy
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by Cheez-It Guy »

I like how people complain about how difficult it is to take advantage of a conversion opportunity that only Vanguard offers when they are admittedly doing it exclusively for the purpose of leaving.
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whodidntante
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by whodidntante »

Cheez-It Guy wrote: Fri Dec 04, 2020 7:22 pm Got to remember that this site's user base is cross-generational, but it's a bit surprising how many seem to prefer to call and wait in a telephone hold loop when given a better option. It's impractical to staff a call center for peak load. On slack days, what are the reps supposed to do? They still have to be paid.
It's rare for me to call anyone on a 1930's style voice-only capability line and it's mostly senior citizens or really quick convos when I do. It's an anachronistic form of communication compared to Zoom/Teams/Facetime/Hangouts and other forms of digital/multimedia communication. Even SMS or online chat is preferable for the majority of real-life situations.
H22
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Re: Can anyone reach Vanguard on the phone?

Post by H22 »

rkhusky wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 5:26 pm
Howie wrote: Wed Dec 16, 2020 2:40 pm Currently on hold. Wait time has been advertised as 20-30 minutes.
Still on hold?
Nope. Hung up after 45 minutes.
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