Switch to Vanguard?

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saferthansome
Posts: 46
Joined: Fri May 09, 2008 12:52 pm

Switch to Vanguard?

Post by saferthansome »

I Imagine this has been covered extensively but I didn't see anything when I searched for it (admittedly I don't totally understand the search function).

I currently have my investment accounts at Fidelity. But nearly every fund I have is a Vanguard fund. Would there be any advantage/disadvantage to switching over?
JerseyBoy
Posts: 71
Joined: Sun Oct 30, 2011 8:58 pm

Re: Switch to Vanguard?

Post by JerseyBoy »

See the following thread for responses to the same question asked last year ---

http://www.bogleheads.org/forum/viewtop ... 1&t=100431
phish_indexer
Posts: 86
Joined: Sun Aug 15, 2010 9:08 pm

Re: Switch to Vanguard?

Post by phish_indexer »

Are there any trading costs when you purchase Vanguard funds through Fidelity's brokerage service? If so, that's a plus for Vanguard.

Would there be any cost associated with moving funds from one broker to another? If so, that's a plus for Fidelity. Check to see if you can transfer in-kind as well, because if you had to sell an asset in a taxable account with a large capital-gain in order to transfer funds, you could take a big tax hit.

Do you like Fidelity's website's interface? I've admittedly never used them. I use Vanguard and think their site is just OK.

Is re-investment of dividends and clearance of sales proceeds quick with Fidelity? With Vanguard, it's next day for MFs and 3 days for ETFs (or often more for dividend payments on ETFs.) Sales proceeds for ETFs are available immediately if you're using them to buy another ETF (or stock.)

Another option is just to sell your Vanguard funds and buy equivalent Fidelity funds, provided this doesn't hit you with the aforementioned tax bill. I understand Fidelity is lowering costs to be competitive with Vanguard. Or you could move some of your assets there, and see who you like better.

I personally prefer Vanguard's client-ownership structure to Fidelity's private one, but this should ultimately have no effect on your bottom line.
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