What does 1 million @Vanguard get you ?

[susa]

Considering moving about 975k to a VG Money Market account and living off the 2.3% / 2.4% interest monthly.

What does 1 million or adding 25k cash to the account accomplish ? (ie. 975k + 25k)

I know VG reduces costs on some of the Admiral share funds but don't want to buy/sell anything or track anything.
If they have ability to spool the interest into a checking / credit card linked account, that would be great.

Don't have to pay any income taxes due to keeping income below 20k / year (MFJ, 60+ and no plans to file for SS).

Anything else ?

[robertmcd]

https://investor.vanguard.com/investing ... s/flagship

Unfortunately nothing too great other than some free trades and reduced commission on fixed income/ brokered CD's

[123]

Not to knock Vanguard in any way but many other brokers have alternative MMFs with a similiar yield that might suit you just as well. The alternative MMFs often have to be "purchased" and may have minimums. For example Fidelity has FXDXX (Fidelity Money Market - Premium Class) which has a minimum purchase of $100K, you buy it like a mutual fund at Fidelity (no fee). Current 7-day yield as of 12/31/18 was reported at 2.37%

I think Schwab has something similar, as do many other brokerages.

Unfortunately the "purchased" MMFs can't work as a default for an account. If the cash mostly sits a "purchased" MMF can often get you a higher yield.

Of course Vanguard gives you the high MMF yield without looping through the purchase rigamarole.

[Jack FFR1846]

I think at Vanguard, your landing page has a different boat on it.

At Fidelity, that gives you Private Client status. That gets you a specific advisor for you to ignore and it gets you free turbo tax. I'm a Fidelity PC and have made use of the free Turbo Tax. I've been so good at ignoring my PC advisor for so long that the one time I went into a branch to get a form filled out, I said hi to my advisor for the first time ever and he responded "Oh yah, you're the Indexing Guy". So there ya go.....maybe yours will call you something cool like Iron Man. I've got "the Indexing Guy" wrapped up.

[alexDDS]

Can you still invest into Primecap or Capital Opportunities funds with Flagship status ?

[mtmingus]

At Fidelity, that gives you Private Client status.

I thought they require 2 million.

[student]

At Fidelity, that gives you Private Client status.

I thought they require 2 million.

I think they got rid of Private Client status and now have private wealth management, which as you have stated, requires 2 million. I think those who are already have private client status continue to have the status.

[venkman]

Considering moving about 975k to a VG Money Market account and living off the 2.3% / 2.4% interest monthly.

That could be risky, if you're counting on that level of income. MM funds have stable principal, but their income level is anything but. If a recession hits and the Fed lowers rates, your MM yield could quickly go down to 0.5% or less. An intermediate bond fund will have fluctuations in principal, but the income will be significantly more stable.

[chessknt]

I'd like to point out that it is 2.4% annually, not monthly. So approx 22k pre tax annually for your deposit--not a lot to get by on.

[sergeant]

Not much, I don't need much. Low-cost funds and reliable service which I require about once a decade is all I require. Also, that interest rate is yearly not monthly.

[bsteiner]

Flagship gets you a person who can help you navigate when something out of the ordinary comes up.

[Bacchus01]

I got a nice email

[TheHouse7]

I think at Vanguard, your landing page has a different boat on it.

At Fidelity, that gives you Private Client status. That gets you a specific advisor for you to ignore and it gets you free turbo tax. I'm a Fidelity PC and have made use of the free Turbo Tax. I've been so good at ignoring my PC advisor for so long that the one time I went into a branch to get a form filled out, I said hi to my advisor for the first time ever and he responded "Oh yah, you're the Indexing Guy". So there ya go.....maybe yours will call you something cool like Iron Man. I've got "the Indexing Guy" wrapped up.

Awesome, some day I hope an advisor gives me an alias.

[TheHouse7]

Not much, I don't need much. Low-cost funds and reliable service which I require about once a decade is all I require. Also, that interest rate is yearly not monthly.

You give me hope that I might retire with a 50k cost of living.

[RickBoglehead]

Can you still invest into Primecap or Capital Opportunities funds with Flagship status ?

Yes (at least Primecap, haven't tried Capital Opportunities). Primecap is limited to $25,000 per account registration type. That's $25,000 for your joint account, $25,000 for your Rollover IRA, $25,000 for your ROTH IRA, $25,000 for your taxable IRA, $25,0000 for your individual account, and $25,000 for your spouse's individual account. Then you can have your Flagship rep transfer the two individual account holdings of Primecap to your joint account, and then convert them to Admiral ($50,000 minimum for Primecap).

For the OP, Vanguard Prime Money Market is currently paying 2.47%, and that should continue to rise with interest rates as it has been.

I paid $29.99 for TurboTax, I don't consider that a reason to be at Fidelity.

I also paid nothing for brokered CDs, whether buying or selling.

And my rep handles things for me, like watching my transfers (just did two more), and getting me answers to questions that I email him. He also gets funds added to my individual 401K at Vanguard, including converting funds to Admiral when I thought it possible in December and he was told it wasn't. It was possible.

Lastly, he escalates issues I bring up to management.

[Alexa9]

Investors with $1 million to $5 million*
You're a Flagship client at Vanguard, which means you get personalized services reserved for our high-net-worth investors.

Helping you look at your wealth holistically is important to us. As a Flagship client, you'll have exclusive resources available to you, including Vanguard professionals who can help you meet your investment and wealth management needs.

These include specialists in areas like estate planning, trust services, financial planning and advice, and philanthropy.
Exclusive benefits
When you call, you'll speak with an experienced Flagship representative who will act as your guide to all the services we offer our high-net-worth clients. Whenever you're facing a complex situation or change in circumstances, a dedicated representative will coordinate personalized, expert help that's tailored to your needs.

You'll also have access to these important benefits:

Financial advice from a Certified Financial Planner™ professional through Vanguard Personal Advisor Services®—anytime. Our advisors can help you with specific investment questions or provide ongoing advisory and portfolio management services.
Access to thousands of commission-free ETFs and no-transaction-fee mutual funds from Vanguard and hundreds of other companies.**
Discounted brokerage trades, including 25 additional commission-free trades for stocks, options, transaction-fee mutual funds, and non-Vanguard ETFs not included in the commission-free offer.†

[stan1]

Flagship gets you a person who can help you navigate when something out of the ordinary comes up.

Yes, Flagship now gets your phone call and email routed to a supposedly more qualified call center staff. A designated person is only assigned if you have a complex problem. I think some legacy clients still have a designated Flagship rep they can call for routine matters but they are slowly transitioning off that.

When you call, you'll speak with an experienced Flagship representative who will act as your guide to all the services we offer our high-net-worth clients. Whenever you're facing a complex situation or change in circumstances, a dedicated representative will coordinate personalized, expert help that's tailored to your needs.

For OP: the answer is not much. Vanguard does have their Advantage checking/bill pay service but you'll do better with a cash management account at Fidelity I think.

[Wakefield1]

I suspect that Flagship means you can keep your old mutual funds platform account and also have a brokerage ("new platform") account.

[retire2022]

I agree with RickBoglehead and others, any closed fund, PrimeCap and Capital Opportunity as well as Dividend Growth can be purchased with 1.0 Million or more Flagship services and limited to $25K per fund per year.

The PAS advice is cookie cutter, initial consultation 45 minute is free, and they charge 0.30% basis points for advice and managing your assets.

[OldSport]

I agree with RickBoglehead and others, any closed fund, PrimeCap and Capital Opportunity as well as Dividend Growth can be purchased with 1.0 Million or more Flagship services and limited to $25K per fund per year.

The PAS advice is cookie cutter, initial consultation 45 minute is free, and they charge 0.30% basis points for advice and managing your assets.

Ironic that the only actively managed VG funds I'd consider are all these three and Wellington/Wellesly and Int'l Explorer.

When has VG last opened Primecap?

[OldSport]

My dad is VG Flagship. Is there anything I can do to be able to invest in Prime Cap? That is the only thing I care about from Flagship.

Unfortunately I can see it taking me at least 15 years to get to Flagship, since my 401k is not at VG.

[SrGrumpy]

I think at Vanguard, your landing page has a different boat on it.

At Fidelity, that gives you Private Client status. That gets you a specific advisor for you to ignore and it gets you free turbo tax.

It's "Enhanced Personal Services" at T. Rowe Price, with a free subscription to WSJ online (worth $444) on top of the Morningstar Plus subscription ($199) + other stuff given to us commoners on the $250k+ level. Still waiting for my "invitations to exclusive programs and events."

[AlphaLess]

Flagship gets you a person who can help you navigate when something out of the ordinary comes up.

In my experience, they are not that good.

Also, whenever you call Vanguard with questions, your wait time increases.
The reason is this:
- when you call, they know it is you,
- your call gets routed to YOUR rep,
- your rep is typically not answering the phone,
- goes to her voice mail,
- you then have to listen to the greeting, and press a button to get transferred to the general pool (of other flagship advisors),
- after some waiting, someone answers.

Pretty terrible setup, if you ask me.

[nalor511]

My dad is VG Flagship. Is there anything I can do to be able to invest in Prime Cap? That is the only thing I care about from Flagship.

Unfortunately I can see it taking me at least 15 years to get to Flagship, since my 401k is not at VG.

If you make your dad an Agent for your account (giving him permission to trade), he will be able to buy Primecap in your account... But of course that has its own tradeoffs

[michaeljmroger]

I’m a Flagship client. I’d say it’s immensely useful for people who are just getting started or who don’t know anything about investing, but it’s pretty much useless for any Bogleheads (aside from knowing you have a privileged support line if anything goes wrong).

[Eric76]

My dad is VG Flagship. Is there anything I can do to be able to invest in Prime Cap? That is the only thing I care about from Flagship.

Unfortunately I can see it taking me at least 15 years to get to Flagship, since my 401k is not at VG.

I've had a Vanguard account since I was a kid. I never changed my address with Vanguard so my statements are still mailed to my parents' address even though I haven't lived there in 20 years. Because of that, I'm apparently rolled into Flagship status (total household assets). My parents have no access to or authority over my or my wife's accounts. They get the statements and shred them. I do everything online. Maybe you can "move back home" to get Flagship status.

[RickBoglehead]

My dad is VG Flagship. Is there anything I can do to be able to invest in Prime Cap? That is the only thing I care about from Flagship.

Unfortunately I can see it taking me at least 15 years to get to Flagship, since my 401k is not at VG.

I've had a Vanguard account since I was a kid. I never changed my address with Vanguard so my statements are still mailed to my parents' address even though I haven't lived there in 20 years. Because of that, I'm apparently rolled into Flagship status (total household assets). My parents have no access to or authority over my or my wife's accounts. They get the statements and shred them. I do everything online. Maybe you can "move back home" to get Flagship status.

You can stop mailing the statements... My kids get Flagship status from us and they never lived at home while at Vanguard.

[BoglePaul]

Free Vanguard Aadvantage (checking, debit card, etc) is probably the reason to cross the boundary. Vanguard is pretty no frills which is probably why their money market funds pay better (there is no free lunch). Functionality to direct the dividends to your checking account works superb.

[RickBoglehead]

Free Vanguard Aadvantage (checking, debit card, etc) is probably the reason to cross the boundary. Vanguard is pretty no frills which is probably why their money market funds pay better (there is no free lunch). Functionality to direct the dividends to your checking account works superb.

I looked into the Aadvantage account, and compared to what leading banks provide it's not up to snuff. My Vanguard rep also told me that there are less-than-a-handful of people at Vanguard who provide support to it, i.e. they aren't focused on it.

[SmileyFace]

There was a thread last month about some folks that keep a lot at Vanguard getting a Christmas Card.
So that's one thing you might get if you consolidate everything down to Vanguard - a Christmas Card.

[Jordan4FI]

Why not just put it in a online bank and not pay a ER for keeping it there... why pay to keep cash somewhere?

[BoglePaul]

Free Vanguard Aadvantage (checking, debit card, etc) is probably the reason to cross the boundary. Vanguard is pretty no frills which is probably why their money market funds pay better (there is no free lunch). Functionality to direct the dividends to your checking account works superb.

I looked into the Aadvantage account, and compared to what leading banks provide it's not up to snuff. My Vanguard rep also told me that there are less-than-a-handful of people at Vanguard who provide support to it, i.e. they aren't focused on it.

What does "not up to snuff" mean? Compared to cash management offerings by investment houses such as Fidelity and others it is identical. Fidelity, Vanguard, and others all outsource to the same bank (UBS?) and it is the exact same offering. Compared to a checking account offered by a major bank, which I use, I would say the major bank has better service hours for support and there are physical locations to handle any issues that arise in person.

[retire2022]

When has VG last opened Primecap?

I believe PrimeCap/Capital Opportunity was opened shortly during the great recession approx 2008.

[infotrader]

I agree with RickBoglehead and others, any closed fund, PrimeCap and Capital Opportunity as well as Dividend Growth can be purchased with 1.0 Million or more Flagship services and limited to $25K per fund per year.

The PAS advice is cookie cutter, initial consultation 45 minute is free, and they charge 0.30% basis points for advice and managing your assets.

I wonder if flagship clients can get into PRIMECAP Odyssey Aggressive Growth Fund.

[hookemhorns]

I am a Flagship member since it’s one of the perks we get through our Vanguard retirement plan. I’ve found the reps to be knowledgeable and service is good. I also signed up for an advantage account which offers a much higher money market yield than my bank. All in pretty happy with it but wouldn’t jump through hoops to get Flagshup status.

[jimcrawford01]

Vanguard's Advantage Account has worked well for me for many years as my primary checking account.

Flagship benefits MAY have been eroded over time, but as a simple investor and Boglehead, I don't care.

I have seen a growing number of complaints on this Board re customer service. However, my experience has been quite good.

Jim