Author Topic: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.  (Read 16733 times)

Bateaux

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2318
  • Location: Port Vincent
Have the Fire landing gear down and starting to plan how to manage drawdown of nest egg.  Anyone use Vanguard Flagship services.   What do they provide for free?

seattlecyclone

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7254
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Seattle, WA
    • My blog
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #1 on: December 07, 2016, 08:47:08 PM »
They offer a few free stock trades per year if you want to dabble in that, unlimited $2 stock trades after you use up the freebies, and a free meeting with a financial planner from time to time. Nothing too huge.

EscapeVelocity2020

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 4815
  • Age: 50
  • Location: Houston
    • EscapeVelocity2020
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #2 on: December 07, 2016, 08:50:25 PM »
Depends on how much hand-holding you want (like a full financial review).  VG will offer you asset-allocation advice or answer questions pertaining to their services.  You can call and ask if you have a specific financial issue, but I still find that I'm the best person to advise myself knowing the alternatives (or just ask your question on Bogleheads.org).  But still, you'll get mostly good or at least not bad Vanguard advice.  I personally got more from their Admiral reduced fees.

Bateaux

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2318
  • Location: Port Vincent
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #3 on: December 08, 2016, 02:18:36 AM »
One would think saving over 1M would be the hard part.  Really, all it took was consistently putting away every paycheck and keeping debt low.  Actually using the money in FIRE mode scares the crap out of me.

Another Reader

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5327
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #4 on: December 08, 2016, 04:05:01 AM »
https://investor.vanguard.com/investing/benefits/flagship

These days $5 million is the real cut-off for substantially more service.

money_bunny

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 114
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #5 on: December 08, 2016, 04:53:29 AM »
Actually using the money in FIRE mode scares the crap out of me.

This is going to be such a challenge for me as well.

Bateaux

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2318
  • Location: Port Vincent
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #6 on: December 08, 2016, 11:58:28 AM »
https://investor.vanguard.com/investing/benefits/flagship

These days $5 million is the real cut-off for substantially more service.



Million dollar accounts at Vanguard I'm sure are very common and with their low expense ratio, extra services shouldn't be expected.   I don't forsee have 5M anytime soon.  Maybe 2M.  With modern communication I guess you can easily manage your own funds anywhere innthe world. 

Bateaux

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2318
  • Location: Port Vincent
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #7 on: December 08, 2016, 12:03:31 PM »
Actually using the money in FIRE mode scares the crap out of me.

This is going to be such a challenge for me as well.

With the potential dismantling of the ACA, Medicare and Social Security it's even more worrisome.

SeattleCPA

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2369
  • Age: 64
  • Location: Redmond, WA
    • Evergreen Small Business
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #8 on: December 08, 2016, 01:48:15 PM »
You notice no difference in experience after crossing threshold.

BTW, the big benefit (available to many people after a few years of disciplined savings) is getting into Admiral class shares which have a really low expense ratio.

geekette

  • Magnum Stache
  • ******
  • Posts: 2550
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #9 on: December 08, 2016, 02:07:36 PM »
You notice no difference in experience after crossing threshold.

BTW, the big benefit (available to many people after a few years of disciplined savings) is getting into Admiral class shares which have a really low expense ratio.
And the good thing is that Admiral shares start well below $1m - between $10k and $100k, depending on the fund.  They convert automatically once you reach the threshold.  The next threshold is $5 million... 

secondcor521

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5503
  • Age: 54
  • Location: Boise, Idaho
  • Big cattle, no hat.
    • Age of Eon - Overwatch player videos
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #10 on: December 08, 2016, 02:44:44 PM »
Flagship also gets you a dedicated representative to talk to, which is a nice touch but really not that useful in practice, because if you call your rep directly, 90% of the time you'll get his voicemail with an offer to schedule an appointment, and to press 0 to talk to someone else.  I always press zero because I'd rather get someone now, and I think you get a "Flagship rep" as opposed to a regular CSR - I assume the former are somewhat better trained or have been with Vanguard longer.

(I'm not Flagship but my Dad is.  He is 80 so I help him with his accounts from time to time nowadays.)

aspiringnomad

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 956
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #11 on: December 08, 2016, 08:42:49 PM »
Vanguard is great, and for those already with them I certainly wouldn't suggest switching unless you really want more attentive service. But for those just starting out who place a value on service, Schwab offers lower expense ratios on some of the most widely used ETFs (e.g., broad US market) along with someone will always pick up the phone when you call and meet with you in person. Also, their mobile and browser platforms are slicker than Vanguard's. There's some debate about whether this is a sustainable business model for Schwab, but it's been their model for years now (I think the ER on their broad-based ETF has slowly ticked down from .06 to .03 over the past few years.) I know Vanguard is always recommended due to their ownership structure, but Schwab may be worth considering for some out there. Disclaimer: Just a happy client of both firms.

Edit to add: probably not applicable to the OP, sorry.


money_bunny

  • Stubble
  • **
  • Posts: 114
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #12 on: December 09, 2016, 05:30:53 AM »


With the potential dismantling of the ACA, Medicare and Social Security it's even more worrisome.

We will see how well the second and third items on you list go. There are a lot of reps that could find themselves out of jobs in 2 years if they touch those sacred cows.

The first, well at that point I will consider moving out of the USA.

ysette9

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8930
  • Age: 2020
  • Location: Bay Area at heart living in the PNW
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #13 on: December 09, 2016, 12:58:37 PM »
Related to this question, I realize that if we were to move my husband's rollover IRA to Vanguard directly, that would put our overall balance of stuff invested with them over the $1M mark. Right now his rollover is invested in Vanguard funds, but through USAA. We left it that way because: lazy. Does anyone think there is a reason for moving the money directly over to Vanguard?

seattlecyclone

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7254
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Seattle, WA
    • My blog
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #14 on: December 09, 2016, 05:36:13 PM »
Related to this question, I realize that if we were to move my husband's rollover IRA to Vanguard directly, that would put our overall balance of stuff invested with them over the $1M mark. Right now his rollover is invested in Vanguard funds, but through USAA. We left it that way because: lazy. Does anyone think there is a reason for moving the money directly over to Vanguard?

I think there's some value to minimizing the number of different financial institutions you have to deal with. As to the Flagship benefits specifically, we've gone over what they are earlier in this thread. Only you can know if those things seem good enough to overcome your "lazy" inaction.

CloserToFree

  • Bristles
  • ***
  • Posts: 369
  • Location: Major U.S. City
  • 30-sth lawyer (for now), traveler, lover of nature
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #15 on: December 09, 2016, 05:45:32 PM »
We have the "Flagship" service too.  Can't say we've looked into how best to use it -- mostly the only benefit we've gotten is being able to call up an actual person to talk to about complicated transactions to execute or logistics (i.e., good customer service).  Half the time we've gotten the actual person, the other time we've gotten someone covering for him.  Will be interested to hear if there are other real benefits of use to folks like us.

Bateaux

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2318
  • Location: Port Vincent
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #16 on: December 10, 2016, 05:56:31 AM »
We have our money scattered currently.  My 401k is Schwab, my retirement Cash Balance fund with Prudential, our Roth IRAs with Vanguard, my wife has a SEP IRA With Amerprise and her 401k with Lincoln Financial. I bank with USAA and a local credit union.  My wife banks with Capital One.  Too much scattered money.  Too many statements and passwords. When we FIRE I want easy to track money.  Thsts why I was curious about Vanguard.  We'll FIRE sometime between tomorrow morning and 2019.  Just wondering where is the best place, with the best service to park it.   The financial advisor at Amerprise would love to manage it for us, for a fee.

ysette9

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8930
  • Age: 2020
  • Location: Bay Area at heart living in the PNW
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #17 on: December 10, 2016, 07:57:41 AM »
So far we use USAA for almost everything and have been very pleased with them EXCEPT their ridiculously expensive investing services. Avoid any investing fund recommendations from them for the same reason and you'll be good. We invest with vanguard and have a small amount of money at the local credit union just for when we need to walk in with a fistful of cash after a car sale or similar. Once we no longer work and do 401(k) rollovers that will be all we have.

ysette9

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 8930
  • Age: 2020
  • Location: Bay Area at heart living in the PNW
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #18 on: December 10, 2016, 08:30:03 AM »
From the Vanguard website, the last benefit is "Ability to purchase select closed Vanguard funds.". Can anyone provide insight into what those are or whether they are worth any passing interest? It doesn't seem otherwise like the services are much extra, as another poster said.

seattlecyclone

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7254
  • Age: 39
  • Location: Seattle, WA
    • My blog
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #19 on: December 10, 2016, 09:43:19 AM »
From the Vanguard website, the last benefit is "Ability to purchase select closed Vanguard funds.". Can anyone provide insight into what those are or whether they are worth any passing interest? It doesn't seem otherwise like the services are much extra, as another poster said.

If you look at Vanguard's full list of mutual funds, you'll see that some of them have a little "closed" icon next to them. They'll close off most new investment to certain funds for a variety of reasons, but I think it mostly boils down to the fact that the fund managers don't think they can get as good of deals on new investments as they already have in the fund, so it would be a disservice to current investors to expand the investment pool by much.

But I guess if you're a Flagship investor they'll waive the restriction and let you buy some Ohio Tax-Exempt Money Market shares or PRIMECAP fund shares or the Dividend Growth fund.

Paul der Krake

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5854
  • Age: 16
  • Location: UTC-10:00
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #20 on: December 10, 2016, 10:30:27 AM »
The real value is getting a dedicated phone line with minimal wait times. Small potatoes investors can have a hard time getting hold of them during tax season.

The free trades are a nice touch too.

SeattleCPA

  • Handlebar Stache
  • *****
  • Posts: 2369
  • Age: 64
  • Location: Redmond, WA
    • Evergreen Small Business
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #21 on: December 10, 2016, 05:10:50 PM »
Vanguard is great, and for those already with them I certainly wouldn't suggest switching unless you really want more attentive service. But for those just starting out who place a value on service, Schwab offers lower expense ratios on some of the most widely used ETFs (e.g., broad US market) along with someone will always pick up the phone when you call and meet with you in person. Also, their mobile and browser platforms are slicker than Vanguard's. There's some debate about whether this is a sustainable business model for Schwab, but it's been their model for years now (I think the ER on their broad-based ETF has slowly ticked down from .06 to .03 over the past few years.) I know Vanguard is always recommended due to their ownership structure, but Schwab may be worth considering for some out there. Disclaimer: Just a happy client of both firms.

Edit to add: probably not applicable to the OP, sorry.

Not disagreeing, just asking for clarification regarding statement that Schwab is less costly... when I've looked at this in detail (and I recently did for a book I was writing), Schwab was lower on some funds, but it sure looked like Vanguard was lower at a portfolio level if you going to be mixing and matching.

Also, I thought some of the Schwab funds had lower fees only because they were temporarily waiving part of the fee... Maybe I misremember. But whenever I see that "temporary waiver" stuff, I shy away since I don't want to have monitor the removal of the waiver.

aspiringnomad

  • Pencil Stache
  • ****
  • Posts: 956
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #22 on: December 11, 2016, 11:09:23 AM »
Vanguard is great, and for those already with them I certainly wouldn't suggest switching unless you really want more attentive service. But for those just starting out who place a value on service, Schwab offers lower expense ratios on some of the most widely used ETFs (e.g., broad US market) along with someone will always pick up the phone when you call and meet with you in person. Also, their mobile and browser platforms are slicker than Vanguard's. There's some debate about whether this is a sustainable business model for Schwab, but it's been their model for years now (I think the ER on their broad-based ETF has slowly ticked down from .06 to .03 over the past few years.) I know Vanguard is always recommended due to their ownership structure, but Schwab may be worth considering for some out there. Disclaimer: Just a happy client of both firms.

Edit to add: probably not applicable to the OP, sorry.



Not disagreeing, just asking for clarification regarding statement that Schwab is less costly... when I've looked at this in detail (and I recently did for a book I was writing), Schwab was lower on some funds, but it sure looked like Vanguard was lower at a portfolio level if you going to be mixing and matching.

Also, I thought some of the Schwab funds had lower fees only because they were temporarily waiving part of the fee... Maybe I misremember. But whenever I see that "temporary waiver" stuff, I shy away since I don't want to have monitor the removal of the waiver.

Some funds are more costly than Vanguard equivalents, but the Schwab ETFs I use are around the same or cheaper. The expense ratio on the US broad market fund SCHB is just .03, and the developed international fund SCHF is .07. Neither are subject to any kind of temporary fee waiver that I'm aware of (no idea what that is or how that would even work). Schwab ETF transactions are free if made with a Schwab account. Both companies are great options for the passive investor, but since the OP asked about additional services, just wanted to note how customer friendly I've found Schwab to be with the aim of giving credit where it's due and promoting healthy competition in the brokerage industry. I've had reasons to pick up the phone to speak to a human in the past because I used to actively manage a good portion of my portfolio pre-MMM (dumb, I know) and have had some complicated tax issues due to my wife's foreign citizenship. If you just want a set-it-and-forget index portfolio, both are great and, as others have pointed out, only Vanguard is structured so that its clients are its owners. That's great, and it speaks directly to the company's core mission, but it doesn't necessarily translate into efficient operations, careful expense management, or good customer service.

La Bibliotecaria Feroz

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 7124
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #23 on: December 11, 2016, 01:37:32 PM »
Flagship also gets you a dedicated representative to talk to, which is a nice touch but really not that useful in practice, because if you call your rep directly, 90% of the time you'll get his voicemail with an offer to schedule an appointment, and to press 0 to talk to someone else.  I always press zero because I'd rather get someone now, and I think you get a "Flagship rep" as opposed to a regular CSR - I assume the former are somewhat better trained or have been with Vanguard longer.

(I'm not Flagship but my Dad is.  He is 80 so I help him with his accounts from time to time nowadays.)

Just want to throw out that if your dad is Flagship, you should be, too. My grandfather got flagship service for his entire extensive progeny. Makes me feel important.

secondcor521

  • Walrus Stache
  • *******
  • Posts: 5503
  • Age: 54
  • Location: Boise, Idaho
  • Big cattle, no hat.
    • Age of Eon - Overwatch player videos
Re: Vanguard Flagship Services for $1,000,000 or more accounts. Anyone use it.
« Reply #24 on: December 11, 2016, 05:13:29 PM »
Flagship also gets you a dedicated representative to talk to, which is a nice touch but really not that useful in practice, because if you call your rep directly, 90% of the time you'll get his voicemail with an offer to schedule an appointment, and to press 0 to talk to someone else.  I always press zero because I'd rather get someone now, and I think you get a "Flagship rep" as opposed to a regular CSR - I assume the former are somewhat better trained or have been with Vanguard longer.

(I'm not Flagship but my Dad is.  He is 80 so I help him with his accounts from time to time nowadays.)

Just want to throw out that if your dad is Flagship, you should be, too. My grandfather got flagship service for his entire extensive progeny. Makes me feel important.

Wow, I did not know that.  I'll give them a call tomorrow and ask them to upgrade me :-)  (And if it works, I'll tell my sisters!)  Not that I do much that needs Flagship, but it would be nice to have just for the heck of it.

Thanks!!