Employee advice
How our financial advice can support employees and their financial well-being
Comprehensive advice for every situation
Everyone needs a little help now and then. That’s why our highly personalized advice services can help your participants plan for—and achieve—any financial goal. Here’s what you’ll get with Vanguard advice.
Vanguard Digital Advisor®
This is our online platform for investors who want traditional investment management and financial wellness guidance on an all-digital platform.
All for about 0.15% of a participant’s managed balance.¹
Vanguard Digital Advisor®
- Continuous online account management by Vanguard.
- Personalized for each participant.
- Advice for any financial goal—not just retirement ones.
- Retirement drawdown strategies.
- $5 minimum retirement account balance.
- Commitment-free recommendations.
Vanguard Personal Advisor®
This high-tech, high-touch service is for participants who want advice both digitally and from a Vanguard advisor who’s focused on their needs.
All for about 0.30% of the managed balance.²
Vanguard Personal Advisor®
- Highly personalized digital and advisor-led advice.
- Advisor-led guidance to help meet even the trickiest goals.
- Support for multiple goals—not just retirement ones.
- Rebalancing, tax efficiency, and drawdown strategies.
- Minimum $250,000 in eligible Vanguard assets.
- No-obligation recommendations before signing up.
Vanguard Situational Advisor™
This is our service for a consultation with a Vanguard advisor to discuss life’s important financial moments, like buying a home, changing a job, receiving a windfall, and virtually anything else.
All for $250 per session.³
Vanguard Situational Advisor™
- Spend time with a financial advisor.
- Recommendations based on participant goals.
- Discuss multiple goals in a single session.
- One-on-one coaching for better saving and spending habits.
- All participants are eligible.
- $500 minimum balance (unless paid for by the employer).
- No-obligation consultation before signing up.
Vanguard compensated Morningstar for permission to promote the award.
Vanguard also offers advice services powered by Edelman Financial Engines (EFE).
Digital Advice powered by Edelman Financial Engines' independent methodology supports accumulators and retirees.
- Digital experience with a managed account specialist.
- Ongoing account management.
- Management of 401(k) plan assets.
- Edelman Financial Engines' independent methodology.
No-cost, interactive online advice solution.
No advisory fee
- Personalized savings and asset allocation advice (including outside accounts and company stock)
- Digital platform featuring comprehensive education center and interactive planning tools (for example, a Social Security planner)
- Access to Vanguard Managed Account Specialists
- Retirement income advice and forecast (including personalized needs assessment, holistic retirement income plan, after-tax spending analysis)*
Personalized portfolio management by an independent investment advisor.
Asset-based fee
- Everything included in Personal Online Advisor plus:
- A personalized portfolio actively managed by EFE
- Outreach by EFE licensed advisors for welcome calls to newly enrolled participants and annual retirement checkups for those ages 45 and up
Why Vanguard advice?
Our employee advice is individualized, inclusive, and integrated—and can be elevated to your plan at no extra cost. Here’s how we do it.
- Individualized
- Inclusive
- Integrated
Individualized
Our employee advice stretches beyond simply retirement. We cast a wide net to provide guidance for any goal your participants may have. And as their needs and goals change throughout their financial lives, our advice remains personalized and will evolve right along with them.
Inclusive
Our advice is for everyone. Regardless of where a participant is in their financial life—their wealth, account balance or the complexity of their needs—we have advice to help. And our fees are affordable, so all participants can have access to advice when they need it.
Integrated
Something as important as financial advice shouldn’t be elusive. That’s why we’ve integrated our advice into a seamless participant experience—making it easily accessible for anyone, from anywhere.
What your participants can expect
The short videos below show how Advice from Vanguard can support participants' financial well-being with interactive tools that help them visualize their goals.
- Tools: multi-goal and goal optimizer
- Tools: cash management, healthcare cost estimator, and Medicare match
MISSION DRIVEN
Focused on doing what's right for your participants—and you
No matter which of our products and services you choose, our focus is on improving your participants' financial wellness and your fiduciary well-being.4
FINANCIAL WELL-BEING
Part of a focused approach to total financial well-being
Advice Insights & Research
Important information
1 Actual costs vary. Digital Advisor will reduce your gross advisory fee by the amount of revenue (such as expense ratio rebates) that Vanguard (or a Vanguard affiliate) collects on your portfolio in order to calculate the net advisory fee. Digital Advisor’s annual net advisory fee is approximately 0.15% across your enrolled accounts for a typical investment portfolio, although your actual net fee will vary depending on the specific holdings in each enrolled account. Your net advisory fee can also vary by enrolled account type. Plan participants’ actual advisory fees will vary depending on your plan’s lineup and the revenue that Vanguard receives from those investments. Participants will be notified of the gross advisory fees applicable to their accounts via plan fee disclosure notices.
2 Actual costs vary. Personal Advisor will reduce your gross advisory fee by the amount of revenue (such as expense ratio rebates) that Vanguard (or a Vanguard affiliate) collects on your portfolio in order to calculate the net advisory fee. Personal Advisor’s annual net advisory fee is approximately 0.30% across your enrolled accounts for a typical investment portfolio, although your actual net fee will vary depending on the specific holdings in each enrolled account. Your net advisory fee can also vary by enrolled account type. Plan participants’ actual advisory fees will vary depending on your plan’s lineup and the revenue that Vanguard receives from those investments. Participants will be notified of the gross advisory fees applicable to their accounts via plan fee disclosure notices.
3 Plans may pay for part or all of the fee for their plan. If the plan does not pay the fee, a minimum balance of $500 is required.
4 While we seek to put our clients' interests first, we have sought to identify potential conflicts where interests and incentives differ, and we seek to disclose such conflicts or situations to you. Like other advisors, we are incentivized to recommend our programs and services over other third-party financial services solutions and products. You should consider carefully which of our services is appropriate for you and whether other products may be more suitable or appropriate. Note the Advisors are not required to recommend the lowest cost solution.
Vanguard Digital Advisor’s services are provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc. (VAI), a federally registered investment advisor. Go to https://personal.vanguard.com/pdf/vanguard-digital-advice-brochure.pdf for important details about this service. Vanguard Digital Advisor’s financial planning tools provide projections and goal achievement forecasts that are hypothetical in nature. They are provided for educational purposes only and are not guarantees of future results.
Vanguard Personal Advisor is provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc., a registered investment advisor, or by Vanguard National Trust Company, a federally chartered, limited purpose trust company. Go to https://personal.vanguard.com/pdf/vanguard-digital-advice-brochure.pdf for important details about this service. The services provided to clients who elect to receive ongoing advice will vary based upon the amount of assets in a portfolio.
Vanguard Situational Advisor is provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc. (VAI), a registered investment advisor. Eligibility restrictions may apply.
Neither VAI, VNTC, Vanguard Personal Advisor, Vanguard Digital Advisor, nor Vanguard Situational Advisor can guarantee a profit or prevent a loss.
The Vanguard Group has partnered with Financial Engines Advisors L.L.C. (FEA) to provide subadvisory services to the Vanguard Managed Account Program and Personal Online Advisor. FEA is an independent, federally registered investment advisor that does not sell investments or receive commission for the investments it recommends with respect to the services which it is engaged in as subadvisor for Vanguard Advisers, Inc. (VAI). Advice is provided by Vanguard Advisers, Inc. (VAI), a federally registered investment advisor and an affiliate of The Vanguard Group, Inc. (Vanguard). Vanguard is owned by the Vanguard funds, which are distributed by Vanguard Marketing Corporation, a registered broker-dealer affiliated with VAI and Vanguard. Neither Vanguard, FEA, nor their respective affiliates guarantee future results. Vanguard will use your information in accordance with Vanguard's Privacy Policy. Edelman Financial Engines® is a registered trademark of Edelman Financial Engines, LLC. All rights reserved. Used with permission.
All investing is subject to risk, including the possible loss of the money you invest.