Vanguard: New Minimum Monthly Account charge

AlanP_2

As per the normal warning with any published articles:

Don't let facts get in the way of a good headline or story 

Hoenir

eskbanker said:

gt94sss2 said:

I have no idea of relative customer numbers but according to the article below both InvestEngine and Trading 212 have seen a huge increase in transfer requests since Vanguard gave notice of these changes.

https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/money/diyinvesting/article-14210723/These-two-investing-platforms-surge-transfers-Vanguard-reveals-fee-hike.html

That article suggests 1,200 transfers to InvestEngine within the last week, with the implication being that these are largely from Vanguard, which had 640,000 customers in the summer, according to:

https://www.fnlondon.com/articles/vanguards-uk-platform-assets-jump-50-on-boost-from-young-investors-46af383a

i.e. just under 0.2% of Vanguard's customers jumped ship to one of their main competitors (for those shopping on price) in the first week.

Given the claimed 4000% increase in transfers to InvestEngine, that would suggest normal volumes are less than 30 per week!

With minimal staffing levels over the Xmas holidays (now a UK shutdown period) . Backlog of work is inevitable. Compounded by the endless emailing and telephone calls chasing progress. 

MeteredOut

boingy said:

If anyone thinks Vanguard's customer service is bad, wait until you experience InvestEngine's customer service!
What a bunch of incompetents. They messed up my ISA and told me bare-faced lies in the process. I think they might have grown too quickly for their own good.

I suspect they're probably feeling the pressure of the number of new applicants at a time when they'll undoubtedly have people on holiday.

The two people I know have been pleasantly surprised with the speed of InvestEngine's responses to date. Of course, the final tell will be how long the transfer takes.

MeteredOut

AlanP_2 said:

As per the normal warning with any published articles:

Don't let facts get in the way of a good headline or story 

Can you clarify which published article you're referring to.? You're obviously questioning its veracity, so it would be good to know if you believe something has been misreported.

AlanP_2

Not misreported but stretched shall we say.

Yes transfer requests might have gone up by a massive percentage but if you are starting from a very low base that is no great feat.

A positive press release was no doubt issued and picked up on but in the overall scheme if things it's a drop in the ocean.

Apart from people on sites like this most members of the public probably couldn't tell you what platform fee they are paying.

jimjames

AlanP_2 said:

Apart from people on sites like this most members of the public probably couldn't tell you what platform fee they are paying.

Even some people here seem to think they're paying an extra £4 a month (which would only be the case if they have no investments in their account at all)

boingy

MeteredOut said:

boingy said:

If anyone thinks Vanguard's customer service is bad, wait until you experience InvestEngine's customer service!
What a bunch of incompetents. They messed up my ISA and told me bare-faced lies in the process. I think they might have grown too quickly for their own good.

I suspect they're probably feeling the pressure of the number of new applicants at a time when they'll undoubtedly have people on holiday.

They were not overstretched when they cocked up my ISA. It's history now but I'll never deal with those people again. They erroneously took fees from funds within my ISA. It's only a few tenners but that is an ISA allowance that I'll never get back. Faced with a formal complaint they refunded it but outside of the ISA. And they cocked up again when I transferred the ISA to a (hopefully) more competent provider. I can't stress enough how bad they were. Buyer beware.

rjmachin

jimjames said:

AlanP_2 said:

Apart from people on sites like this most members of the public probably couldn't tell you what platform fee they are paying.

Even some people here seem to think they're paying an extra £4 a month (which would only be the case if they have no investments in their account at all)

I would not (had I not initiated a transfer to Trading 212) have to pay an extra £4 per month, but as currently paying (on a £5500 investment) £0.68 per month, I would see an increase of £3.32 (488%) per month

Calidad

What do people make of platforms like eToro? Vanguard ETFs are available fee free, however there are spreads. Is it a worthwhile option? I ask as I rarely see it mentioned.

InvesterJones

Calidad said:

What do people make of platforms like eToro? Vanguard ETFs are available fee free, however there are spreads. Is it a worthwhile option? I ask as I rarely see it mentioned.

The spread should be no different to buying on any other platform.