Vanguard Reviews

I've invested my retirement funds through Vanguard for more than 40 years. Very simple and straightforward. Keeps growing in spite of RMD's that I now have to take each year. WOULD DO IT AGAIN!

Vanguard is by far the worst investment company in the market. More H1B hires than any 5 companies combined. If you speak English, choose another company. If you expect Customer Service, seek and choose a company that provides it. If you want a company that has a strong online platform, forget looking at Vanguard! Absolutely awful in all three areas and I'm just hitting the high points. Vanguard is just a shadow of the company that your Father told you about and insisted that you use for your money. Tip for Vanguard: Hire Americans that speak English. Also up your online platform game!

If you have your 401k at Fidelity or anywhere else KEEP IT THERE COMPARED TO VANGAURD. Just try Vanguard and you will see why ConsumerAffairs has them at a review rating of 1.1. I promise the day will come you will stand in shock when you realize they control what you can and can't do with your own money and yes I know I'm yelling. Make a decision to move your money between funds and then decide you want to cancel a pending order? Here is the answer you will get. “SIR WE DO NOT ALLOW CANCELLATIONS OF PENDING ORDERS JUST BECAUSE YOU CHANGED YOUR MIND”. The very definition of investing and trading is changing your mind. UNBELIEVABLE.

I requested a standard rollover from a 401k to an IRA on February 11, 2026. I have had to call Vanguard four times to cancel and reissue their check because of address corrections. They refuse to wire or FedEx funds and will only use snail mail! The customer service is trained apparently not to empathize or acknowledge their shortcomings. I am not blaming the customer service reps, it's not their fault, they are not trained. I would caution anyone doing business with Vanguard to think twice.

I have experienced the absolute worst customer service EVER! They have given me misinformation, required me to incur legal fees I otherwise would not have incurred, given me the runaround, sent me incorrect forms and not processed account changes as promised. I have been through at least 4 different agents that always promise to follow up until all the issues are addressed, however none of them will give me a direct extension or email with which to follow up and they all end up dropping the ball. I end up having to call back in and start the process all over. Last week I was on hold for over 3 hours, they followed up with a response letter that didn't even have my correct name on it. Issue is still not resolved. It is a complicated case, but no one will pass me to anyone at a higher level to get it resolved, they just keep giving me the runaround.

Vanguard has gone down hill rapidly. I have had an account for over 50 years. They give inaccurate information involving gains--how they calculate them just makes them look good I guess but not truthful at all. The robotic systems are a joke and the website gives you summary information yet makes it difficult to complete any task. They are impossible to reach by phone and it will go through 8 to 10 different people if you're lucky enough to get through the redundant and circular robotic system. They do not care about investors and they just hope to get more money from you and cannot or will not explain how they take that money. They are just a horrible company now.

Opening a traditional IRA with Vanguard turned out to be an extremely frustrating experience. I spent over 10 days trying to set up the account, but was blocked due to a legacy account from 25 years ago that had already been closed. There seems to be no efficient way to resolve this issue. Very disappointing for a company of this reputation. I ultimately opened an account with Fidelity, where the entire process was smooth and completed in under 30 minutes.

My company closed thus our accounts needed to be transferred. They took out the money from my Roth and a month later it still has not been delivered. The first time I contacted Customer service they directed me to the Q&A page, the second time they told me to contact my employers HR that is no longer in business. Considering that company has nothing to do with distributions they apparently think I am an idiot. The true test of a company is how they act when you are leaving. I am happy I didn't leave my money invested with them as that was an option.

Logged into my account to find all of my funds transferred out of my account with no information on who it went to or where. Called customer service multiple times, got transferred multiple times, and no one could pull up information on my account. I called to ask for an email address to contact customer service, was put on hold for almost 5 minutes for the rep to come back and give me a website instead of an email address. Worst customer service and user experience I’ve ever had.

Vanguard’s fallen in a black hole and got stuck in the 70’s. Fed regs require I get them new W4P and GA W4. For an issue impacting 1000’s of customers, the ONLY option they offer is to US mail or fax the forms. Did I mention they outsourced customer service and it shows.