Vanguard Investments

Review for me rating of 1.9. Tells you everything invest in gold shares give mostly 10% return vanguard recipe " for disaster they in vest in shares in different companies " if a world slow down or crash gold shares make you money bye-bye

We left two industry funds because you spent too much time on hold. First call to Vanguard Super to setup 2 super policies straight through. 2nd and 3rd call no better than the industry funds. Long wait and then transferred and another wait. Will look elsewhere.

My god. Weeks of trying to invest money in Vanguard. They approved my ID is what they said in messages (which by the way are the main way of contacting them), but they never did. So each time I try to follow this up it takes AT LEAST A WEEK to get a reply. A month or so later, still no reply. I have tons of money to invest and I'd rather put it… Read more

on a roulette wheel at this point than risk it with a company who can't even reply to communications of any type in under a week. What will you do if you lose money or have a serious issue and need immediate communications with them? It seems like a fly by night operation not a legitimate business.

I have now started the lengthy process of closing my account, having never even invested a cent because they're TOO INCOMPETANT TO EVEN ACTIVATE AN ACCOUNT that they clearly state is activated. I have no idea how long this will take as there is no way to close your account unless you go through their stupidly slow contact chat link. I will no doubt have weeks or so of work ahead trying to close my account with this mob.

I will never again touch any vanguard product not even with a ten foot pole. What a headache it's been doing something as damned simple as activating an account lol.

Would give zero stars if I could. Cannot access funds to be returned. Vanguard delays repayment of investments when required to pay out. Do not trust this company with your savings.

Its seriously so frustrating that i can loose so much money – We still not paid, but vanguard investments is still doing advertisements on discounts, for people who don’t know, they still want to rob more people, people please they don’t pay, don’t invest your money thanks to GAARD.IO for helping me with my money refund

Very disappointing, poor admin – The ETFs are an OK product but nothing special compared to other major ETFs. The admin is just awful - takes over a month to withdraw money. (two weeks to verify your bank details, 3 days business days to sell ETFs, another 3 business days for the money to 'clear' into your account, a minimum 2 business days for the withdrawal to be sent and then… Read more

another 3 business days for it to process into your bank account). Really disappointing, certainly much better investment services out there if you shop around.

Vanguard superannuation – Absolute nightmare to deal with. Took four months of stressful emails and over 60 calls to join and consolidate previous super The worst customer service I've ever endured. Totally did my head In. It all could have been done in one day with a decent company

Why the bad reviews? – Some reviews here are negative, but I have to wonder why. I have used them to buy ETFs for about three or four years. Withdrawing money hasn't been difficult at all. Yes the fund transfers are not instant, but that protects you from scammers and… Read more

hackers who want to do immediate transfers. Performance depends on the ETF you choose. VHY and VLC are a couple of good performers.

Below expectation – Not really an experience I would like to keep in my memory for a long time to come. Didn't live up to the expectations I had in mind. Depositing was easy with almost no hinderance at all; withdrawal came with some hiccups due to some extra layer of verification and requirements. It became impossible to get my money out, it took the intervention of the experts at finekroyal . tech to get my money back.

Difficult and not transparent – Appears to be good but has hidden 0.2,% charge. Cash withdrawals are delayed. Hard to get some kinds of information.

Perplexed by previous negative reviews – I've been investing for a bit of fun over the last few years. I've spread my money over 10 different funds. Not a lot, just what I can afford. ETFs and managed index funds. Everything is clear. I check my portfolio occasionally. It's all in there. Dividends. Interest. Fees. This and that. The market goes up and down. It's the share market!! … Read more

If people are concerned about investing in Vanguard. Maybe put your money into a decent superannuation fund instead ( basically the same thing). Tax advantages are better as well with superannuation. Look at an industry fund. Though locked in till you are 60.

Or the bank. 5% now.

I'm happy with Vanguard to date. As I'm looking long term and not the lottery. Plus not locked in till 60 if I need to pull out.

Disappointing – Disappointing is putting it mildly. $110k invested in Vanguard Australian ETFs in January 2020 - 3.5 years later investment worth $97k. Have liquidated the investment and put the funds into a Macquarie Term Deposit at 5% per annum. Makes more sense.

Not the place for retirement nest eggs! – Just pulled out of Vanguard's (so-called) low risk conservative Funds (2 X$75K invested) after 18 months of steady falling unit prices. I'll take the $10K loss and invest elsewhere to recover. While I totally understand market movements, the timing quirks (and 'time in'), it became clear that my investment was almost certainly not going to break… Read more

even anytime soon, let alone make the stated goal of 4-6% p.a. Watching the numbers, it came down to this; my investment always took the full drop in market value, but when the market recovered, Vanguard only appeared to re-price at ~50% of the gain. To be fair, the performance might have been better if I was a continuous investor (e.g. $x per month) to get the dollar-cost-averaging, but as a lump sum, it was a dead loss. As far as withdrawing my money, it was frustrating to have to wait several days (6) and miss a price peak, but they did pay out without much drama. Lesson, not the place for lump sum investments.

Great low cost broker with auto-invest feature – Have seen many negative reviews around 'Vanguard Investments' (they don't seem related to VPI or at least its current form) but their brokerage platform 'Vanguard Personal Investor' is a great option for those interested in only Vanguard ETFs and Managed Funds (you can also purchase other ASX shares for $9 brokerage and an account keeping fee, but… Read more

they do not offer access to the whole ASX - I would recommend another broker for ASX buys).

The platform is really geared towards long term investors who want to auto-invest at their own pace. No brokerage fees to buy Vanguard products, no account keeping fees for Vanguard products (except for the ETF or Managed Fund fee - applies to all investors regardless of broker) and the auto-invest option is a great tool to help build wealth. They have just recently activated reinvestment options for dividend payments, which is great to see. I have been able to deposit and withdraw funds with no issues and haven't needed to contact support for any reason. Online sign up is super quick, about 10 minutes and you're good to go! When using auto-invest, it does take 2-3 days for the final purchase to go through after the funds have been debited but this should suit those dollar cost averaging investors.

Vanguard Personal Investor does not have the data, bells and whistles you may expect from other brokers but it is perfect for those wanting to invest in Vanguard products at no to little cost. They are not CHESS sponsored but instead have a custodial agreement with JP Morgan. The phone app isn't great but the online portal is simple and easy to navigate.

I would and do recommend VPI to those wanting to purchase Vanguard products and use an auto-invest feature.

Scammed again by Vanguard – BEWARE OF INVESTING WITH VANGUARD On each of the following, Vanguard replaced my proposed investments with another generating little or no interest. With each I complained and asked to speak with a manager. Despite having very significant investments, Vanguard refused. Do not trust them with your money! , My mother had over $500,000 in various… Read more

investments. She passed at the age of 97. During her later years, when she became less savvy, Vanguard put some of her money in an essentially non-interest bearing account. They took advantage of her age and physical condition and refused to address their actions.

My mother passed on 10/20. Four times I submitted the required paperwork to forward her investments in my name. I spent hours and over a year before they FINALLY included her investments with mine, as required by law.

I invested $500,000 in 5 accounts. I indicated this in both a formal application and a telephone conversation. Two months later, my statement indicated that it was put in a non-interest bearing accountVanguard refused my request to speak with a manager, and to provide some restitution. Once again, Vanguard refused my request to speak with a manager, and to provide some restitution.    4. On 12/27/2022 I called. I asked to invest $100,000 in Delta Airlines stock. The stock was selling at $32 a share. My statement indicated my investment instead was put on a Vanguard money market fund. I called, and was told this was a "settlement fund." Vanguard refused my efforts to speak with a manager, and lied to me stating their tapes did not indicate any Delta investment. I complained to FINRA. They admitted that I was told my investment in Delta was complete, and reluctantly backdated my investment. Of course, they offered neither an apology, nor an explanation.

Vanguard has never allowed me to speak with a senior official despite my repeated requests. I have made requests for the taped conversations. Of course these requests were refused.

It is apparent that Vanguard uses every opportunity to defraud their investors.

Tony Raymond traymond51@hotmail.com 410-247-0837

WONT LET ME WITHDRAW – SCAM. Does not let you withdraw your money. Support do not respond

You can’t withdraw your money – If I can deposit money using the app then I should be able to withdraw money using the app. Simple. Unfortunately vanguard doesn’t offer withdrawal. Also, customer service take days to respond. So no, would not recommend.

Vanguard personal investor prevents you from investing in low cost ETFs – If you want to use Vanguard you sign up for a 'personal investor' account. This account does not allow access to most of the low cost ETFs for which vanguard is known. Instead you can only invest in high cost managed funds and diversified ETFs. Its a shameless money grab. Should be fixed asap. Show details

Amazing customer service – As a new investor, my experience with Vanguard's website and customer service has been excellent, in particular with Eric. He spent so much time patiently explaining to me how to navigate the website and complete my first transaction.

Poor service poor website poor turnaround – Website is poor. Also took 2 weeks just to make a withdrawal!!!!! You can’t even access your own money in a timely manner. Stick with commsec or nabtrade for investing

Not perfect but pretty easy and low fees – I opened a personal investor account a few months ago and have found it pretty good. I wish the user portal had some more in-depth performance tracking but I already use Sharesight so just load transactions in there for the performance tracking. I logged a query and they rang me back within 2 hours which was good.

Not sure what the fuss is about – Admittedly I joined Vanguard Investments April 2021 so missed out on transition previous reviewers are talking about. I find the Website user friendly and very easy to follow. Who wants to call or send a fax? That is soo last decade. My portfolio shows what planned dividends are and I love the option to reinvest. As for filling out Tax Return… Read more

there are guides on the ATO web site - and the Statement guides you through the item numbers for the lodgement -easy peasy.

And I am not going to blame Vanguard Investment for the horror year on market. Its just something that happens...

No 20-21 prefill data provided to the ATO – When the "Complaints Lead, Vanguard Australia" commits to calling you back twice, and fails to do so - twice - you know you're in trouble. I have been communicating with Vanguard since July 2021 to confirm when Vanguard will fulfil its obligation to provide prefill data to the ATO for 20-21FY. After many months of excuses and apologies I… Read more

finally spoke to the Complaints Lead - who, after a brief conversation indicating a possible solution was imminent, now has failed to call me with the update she promised. I trusted the operator who took my follow up call, that the Complaints Lead would return my call in 10-15 minutes - that was a couple of days ago. Where are you Complaints Lead, and where is the power of the ATO or the ACCC when companies fail in their reporting obligations?

Not a "user friendly " company !! – Impossible to access their site and find out information such as " what dividend is planned for the SEPTEMBER Quarter 2021" on several of their ETFs. WHY ........is it a secret?

Is it the same vanguard I invested 4 years ago? – Connot agree more with the other reviews. What has happened with Vanguard? Since they’ve made those changes in October last year, the service & navigation became terrible. I now hold two investor numbers, two account numbers. What a pain to manage... so confusing. Plus you now have to pay 0.2% of fees on the portfolio if you invested under the… Read more

new platform after October 2020 (cap to $600 a year). Customer service also became really poor. Called 3 times to ask about adding authorised representatives. One agent told me to use the advisory form, the other one the third party form (and redirected me to another vanguard team - like a third party team) and finally one of the guys said to use the authorised representative form (which is the one I thought I should be using because it made sense). Why would customer service not provide the same answer in the first place? Also to add ... an agent sent me someone else’s personal statement ... I see it as a data breach which really concerns me.

What Happened to Vanguard? – I have had investments in various Vanguard funds over the last 20 years and always found them easy to manage. I recently wanted to invest some more money with them and looked at their new products and saw a couple that I wanted to put money in. Could not find the application forms anywhere in either the website or the portal. I sent them a message… Read more

from my account (logged in to the portal). There was a warning that they were busier than normal (this message seems to have been there for several weeks). No response for 2 weeks. I finally called them and after getting a call back after sitting on hold for ages, was told that I would have to create a new account (I already have 1 personal one and a joint one with them) to be able to invest in the funds I wanted, and that these funds were not available to joint accounts and probably wouldn't be for "about 6 months or so". So basically I would have to hold multiple personal accounts to have the different funds (only 1 additional fund to what I already have) and would not be able to get them at all with a joint account, which was what I wanted in the first place. What a joke. I will be looking elsewhere, which is disappointing as the fund in question was just what I was looking for. Several hours of my life I'll never get back. What happened to these guys?

Vanguard Australia appears to have lost the plot! – I totally agree with the last reviewer. It’s hard to believe but the horrifying change appears to have taken place in October 2020. This Australian Financial Review article talks in glowing terms about the new MD Frank Kolimago and his “ambitious agenda”: … Read more

https://www.afr.com/companies/financial-services/vanguard-forfeits-100b-ahead-of-big-super-showdown-20201001-p5612q

The experience for customers was good until October 2020. Their website was archaic but at least it worked. Then Vanguard Aus forced changes on their customers forcing many to open another account. I’ve been trying to do so since November 2020 - it’s still not open.

I’ve called and called. I’ve submitted a complaint. I’ve submitted negative reviews on their account opening process. I’ve asked to speak to a senior manager. There is no response to any of this. Support promises to call back. To escalate to senior management. Nothing happens.

Can Vanguard US really let their Australian operation run so badly?

Do the Glassdoor reviews provide an indication of the problems: https://www.glassdoor.com.au/Overview/Working-at-Vanguard-Investments-Australia-EI_IE157291.11,41.htm

Limited and problematic client services – In 2020 Vanguard Australia took a disappointing change of direction, moving from a quaint fax based service, to no service at all. Following the changes Vanguard have made: Expect to spend 30 minutes on hold each and every time you attempt to contact Vanguard. Do not expect response from email correspondence. Both Vanguards 'clientservices'… Read more

email address and Vanguards web based messaging are hit and miss.

Vanguard will refuse to transfer units between accounts. Vanguard will even refuse to transfer investments between funds held in one account.

Regardless of advice you might receive from the call centre staff, or the Vanguard forms you might be asked to complete, expect Vanguard to ultimately refuse to act on instruction regarding your investment choices.

Expect to hear terms like 'on-boarding' and 'legacy-account', these appear to be code words for 'we didn't transition to the new system very well' and 'the new system was pushed before it was operational'.

There is comfort however, as 'Vanguard is experiencing a greater than expected number of calls and that Vanguard apologises for any inconvenience, and that Vanguard thanks you for your patience.' You will hear this a lot in your 30 minutes on hold. How many months of 'greater that expected number of calls' before the call volume becomes 'expected'?

As a long time Vanguard investor, I am deeply disheartened by Vanguard's current direction. Vanguard may recover in time, but right now, the joy may not be worth the pain.