Vanguard Brokerage Review

Vanguard brokerage company rating

Vanguard commissions structure on trading, buying, selling stocks. IRA, brokerage trading account fee schedule, margin rates. Vanguard annual, inactivity charges, cost of investing.

Vanguard Brokerage Commissions Schedule

ProductPrice
Stocks and ETFs $0
Options $1 per contract
Mutual funds $20
U.S. Treasury Free for new and existing issues.
U.S. government agency securities, corporate bonds, and CDs New issues free.
Mortgage-backed securities & commercial papers $50 per transaction.
UITsSelling UITs $35 per transaction.


Vanguard Stock Trading Fees

Vanguard has a simple commission schedule. It applies to both retirement and non-retirement accounts. The broker's commissions cost $0 for stock and ETF trades.

Retirement savers can simplify the investment process by trading NTF mutual funds with Vanguard. The broker manages its own suite of mutual funds. There are 127 Vanguard mutual funds currently available on the firm's website. All of these come with no load and no transaction fee. In total, more than 16,000 mutual funds are available at Vanguard. There are many no-load, no-transaction-fee funds in this list of 16,000. Funds with a transaction fee carry a $20 charge. This fee applies to purchases, sales, and exchanges.

Vanguard manages its own set of target date mutual funds. These products are designed for retirement investors. The portfolio of a target date fund becomes less risky as the target date approaches. This is the date when retirement is supposed to begin. These funds are no-load, no-transaction-fee products. They also have expense ratios at or below 0.16%.


Vanguard Fees Comparison

Broker Review Broker
Rating
Stock/ETF
Fee
Mutual Fund
Fee
Option Promotion Offer
Charles Schwab Charles Schwab rating $0 $49.95 ($0 to sell) $0.65 per contract Satisfaction guarantee and $0-fee trades at Charles Schwab.
Firstrade Firstrade rating $0 $0 $0 3% match on contributions and 2% on transfers with a No-Fee IRA.
Robinhood 4-star brokerage firm rating $0 na $0 Up to $200 free stock + 1% IRA match + transfer fee refund at Robinhood.
Vanguard Vanguard brokerage company rating $0 $20 $1.00 None


Vanguard Margin Rates

Debit Balance Margin Interest Rates
under $19,999 12.75%
$20,000 – $49,999 12.25%
$50,000 – $99,999 11.75%
$100,000–$249,999 11.25%
$250,000–$499,999 10.75%
$500,000–$999,999 9.5%
above $1,000,000 call



Investors approved for margin accounts can trade most eligible securities on margin, including: Exchange-listed securities (excluding Vanguard ETFs®), over-the-counter (OTC) securities traded through Nasdaq or the National Market System, OTC securities approved by the Federal Reserve Board, government, municipal, and corporate bonds.

 

Vanguard Brokerage Services Fees

Fee TypeAmount
Annual Fee$20 annual fee applies to each of brokerage accounts.The fee is waived for any client who elects to receive statements and other important information electronically.
Insufficient funds $20
Stop payment $15
Foreign securities transactions$50 processing fee for non-DTC-eligible securities (not applicable to American Depositary Receipts) plus commission. If a trade executes over multiple days, the commission will be charged for each day on which an execution occurs. Additional fees may apply for trades executed directly on local markets.
American Depositary Receipt (ADR) feesBanks that custody ADRs are permitted to charge ADR holders certain fees, which are detailed in the ADR prospectuses. "Pass through" ADR fees are collected from Vanguard Brokerage Services by the Depository Trust Company (DTC) and will be automatically deducted from your brokerage account and shown on your account statement. Other fees, including dividend processing fees, may be withheld by the DTC from the amount paid by the issuer.
Wire transfersVanguard does not charge a fee to wire money to your bank. However, your bank may charge for receiving wires from your brokerage account or settlement fund.
Miscellaneous feesOther securities transaction or maintenance fees may apply. Call us for additional information.



Notes: A separate commission is charged for each security bought or sold. Orders that execute over multiple days are charged separate commissions. In addition, a separate commission is charged for each order placed for the same security on the same side of the market (buying or selling) on the same day. Orders that are changed by the client and executed in multiple trades on the same day are charged separate commissions. These commission and fee schedules are subject to change.

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Updated on 1/1/2025.