Vanguard UK Review 2024 (After 4 Years of Using It)

In this Vanguard Investor review, you’ll learn everything about this investment app. Many investors recommend Vanguard, but is it really that good? Blindly following advice can cost you all your money. Before committing, you should see for yourself what Vanguard is all about.

Vanguard was the first investment platform I signed up to. I started investing in 2019, at the same time as I started blogging. To this date, I still use Vanguard for long-term investments. After experiencing their ups and downs, I’ll tell you what I’ve learned.

What Is Vanguard Investor?

Vanguard is an online investment platform or online broker. Vanguard specialises in offering low-cost index trackers. You can buy these on Vanguard or through other brokers. Vanguard’s key features are:

• Minimum investment: £500 lump sum or £100 monthly
• About 80 funds are available
• No individual shares
• Web platform and mobile app available

Vanguard was founded by John Bogle in 1975 in the US and came to the UK in 2009. Worldwide, Vanguard has 50 million investors.

Vanguard is an asset management company owned by the funds rather than shareholders. It aims to be profitable for investors rather than company owners.

Vanguard Is a Legit Platform

Vanguard Investor and Vanguard Asset Management are legit companies. In the UK, Vanguard is a registered company with the number 07243412. It’s also regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority.

Because of its popularity, scammers may trick you with links to cloned Vanguard sites. These aren’t legit and are not related to Vanguard. I recommend checking the URL to ensure you are on the correct site.

Vanguard is also on Trustpilot, with an average score of 4.0 out of 5.0. Overall, 77% of users rated Vanguard as great or excellent.

Vanguard Is Safe

Vanguard Investor is safe. Vanguard users enjoy Financial Services Compensation Scheme (FSCS) protection. If Vanguard goes bankrupt, you get a compensation of up to £85,000. This does not cover investment losses. Vanguard also states that:

“Vanguard is committed to and devotes significant resources […] to protecting your online security and takes very seriously the importance of maintaining your personal information and investments securely at all times.“

Vanguard Security

My Vanguard Experience

I joined Vanguard in 2019. At the time, it was the most talked about platform, and everyone recommended it. I didn’t understand investing then, so I followed the trend. In hindsight, this wasn’t smart. I recommend you do research and choose a platform based on your goals and needs.

Since 2019, I studied investing by myself, so I have a better understanding now. I’ve reviewed all other major UK brokers but still use Vanguard. As you can read below, there are a few issues with the platform, but overall, I’m happy.

My fund of choice is the FTSE Global All Cap Index Accumulation Index Fund. This fund is right for me, but that doesn’t mean you should use it. It has a risk level of 5 out of 7.

How Does Vanguard Investor Work?

Vanguard Investor is a broker. Brokers connect customers to the stock market so they can buy and sell assets. For Vanguard, these assets are Vanguard funds.

Vanguard is a DIY investment platform, and you’ll have to choose your own funds. If you would like help with this, you may prefer Wealthify. Read more in my Wealthify vs Vanguard comparison.

1. Signing up

Signing up to Vanguard is free. Navigate to “Open an Account” to start the application process. Then click “Start My Application”. Choose the account type you want. You can add more accounts later. When I signed up, I opened an Individual Savings Account (ISA) and later added a Self-invested Personal Pension (SIPP).

To create your account, you will need your:

• National Insurance number
• Address
• Email
• Debit card details
• Bank details (for regular payments)

These requirements protect you and ensure you are the person you claim to be. You must provide these details to any legit broker when signing up.

2. Depositing and Buying Funds

You need to deposit a minimum of £500 or set up a regular payment of £100. Vanguard does not help with choosing funds. It simply provides you with a list of funds:

3. Cancelling a Pending Order on Vanguard

If you made a mistake or changed your mind, you can cancel a pending order. To do so, navigate to “Transactions”. Click the plus button next to the order you want to cancel to reveal the “Cancel order” button. Clicking it cancels your order.

4. Withdrawing Money

Before withdrawing, you need to sell your investments. The withdrawal option is under “Payments”. Your cash should be in your bank account within five business days. Vanguard doesn’t charge withdrawal fees.

Vanguard Offers 4 Account Types

Vanguard offers the following accounts:

• General Investment Account (GIA). This is the standard investment account. You need to pay capital gains tax once you exceed your allowance.
• Individual Savings Account (ISA). This is an investment account where you do not need to pay tax. You can only deposit £20,000 per tax year.
• Junior ISA. This is a tax-advantaged account for children and teenagers under 18. You can contribute up to £9000 per tax year.
• Self-invested Personal Pension (SIPP). This is a pension account that provides tax relief. You cannot access your money before retirement. Withdrawing earlier is difficult and costly.

Vanguard doesn’t offer Lifetime ISAs. If you want to open one, you may prefer Hargreaves Lansdown. Read more in my Vanguard vs Hargreaves Lansdown comparison.

You Can Only Buy Vanguard Funds on Vanguard

You can choose between 83 funds on Vanguard, covering the following regions:

• Europe
• Global
• UK
• Japan
• Asia-Pacific
• America
• Emerging markets

In addition, Vanguard also offers blended funds, fixed-income, and bond funds. While different funds suit different investors, the funds commonly recommended online are:

• FTSE Global All Cap Index Accumulation fund*
• The LifeStrategy Series

*All Cap (All Capitalisation) means the fund is not specialised and includes various stocks.

While these are great funds, don’t invest in them because someone in a forum recommended them. They may not be right for your circumstances; you should research them more.

Vanguard’s LifeStrategy Series

The LifeStrategy series is one of Vanguard’s most popular collections of funds. It includes five funds that differ in their weighing of bonds and equities:

	Equities (%)	Bonds (%)
LifeStrategy 20	20	80
LifeStrategy 40	40	60
LifeStrategy 60	60	40
LifeStrategy 80	80	20
LifeStrategy 100	100	0

Equities are more profitable than bonds, but they also have higher risks. Bonds are more stable in times of market downturns. When comparing LifeStrategy 20 with LifeStrategy 80, you’d expect the latter to gain more but also lose more.

Vanguard doesn’t offer single stocks or other assets. For investments beyond funds, you may prefer eToro. Read my Vanguard vs eToro comparison for more information.

Vanguard Charges Fund and Account Fees

One of Vanguard’s key selling points is that it is one of the cheapest ways to invest in Vanguard funds. The fees are:

• Fund management fees
  • Market spread: Difference between bid and offer price
  • Fund transaction cost: costs for buying and selling shares and bonds within a fund
  • Ongoing fee: Vanguard’s management fee
• Account fee

The ongoing fees are 0.2% on average. The account fee is 0.15% per year, capped at £375 for accounts over £250,000.

You can see how these compare to other brokers in my Trading212 vs Vanguard comparison and my Vanguard vs Freetrade comparison.

Why Are Vanguard Funds So Popular?

Almost everyone in the investing scene is familiar with Vanguard funds. When you start investing, someone will probably recommend buying Vanguard funds. The reason is that Vanguard funds are well-selected and diversified. They perform close to the index they are tracking.

However, this doesn’t mean Vanguard funds always outperform other funds. Current popularity can’t predict future success.

See how Vanguard performs compared to AJ Bell in my Vanguard vs AJ Bell comparison.

Vanguard May Not Be Cheapest for Vanguard Funds

Vanguard is a low-cost platform, but it may not be the cheapest way to buy Vanguard funds. Vanguard charges percentage-based fees. Its fee structure is great for smaller investors.

However, if you have over £80,000 invested, brokers charging a fixed fee may be cheaper. Typically, moving your investments to interactive investor reduces your fees. Read more in my Vanguard vs interactive investor comparison.

Vanguard’s Customer Support Is Not Great

One major issue I have with Vanguard is customer service. Vanguard doesn’t have a live chat. Instead, you need to send a ticket. Typically, it takes 24 hours for someone to respond.

Then, it’s a lottery if you get someone who wants to help you or someone who fobs you off. I’ve had customer support staff lying to me about the progress of pension transfers. Equally, I also spoke to helpful and responsive members.

It’s frustrating if someone tells you things that aren’t true. I’ve considered leaving Vanguard more than once. However, ultimately, I still like the rest of the platform enough to stay.

Pros and Cons of Vanguard Investor

Vanguard Investor Review Pros

• One of the cheapest investment platforms on the market.
• Access to all Vanguard funds.
• No charge for opening and maintaining an ISA.
• The platform is easy to use and navigate.

Vanguard Investor Review Cons

• The customer support is slow and not always helpful.
• There are few tools available to research funds.
• You cannot buy individual stocks.

Vanguard Investor UK Review Summary

Vanguard is one of the best investment apps in the UK. Investments start from £100, and you can choose from over 80 funds. Vanguard particularly stands out because of its low-cost index trackers that perform well. However, Vanguard might not be the cheapest way to invest in these funds.

Read more in my Vanguard vs Moneybox comparison and my Nutmeg vs Vanguard comparison.

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