Vanguard vs. Edward Jones Investing Question?
I am 24 yrs old and have been starting to do some research on investing. I would definitely like to start a roth IRA and possibly a separate IRA in addition to my work 403(b) account. I have been reading how Edward Jones is a reputable company that give you the “one on one” attention but charge about 5% up front on every dollar you invest, if I read correctly? I have heard better opinions on Vanguard due to their rates being lower, but I can’t seem to find out how much less than Edward Jones.
Secondly, does Vanguard just do Investments or do they offer personal banking options and mortgage loans? I am looking to buy a house in the next year and wanted to know if they have that service also. Obviously, I new to this and looking for some help.
As already mentioned Edward Jones is a broker organization. If you buy a mutual fund from them they will indeed charge you about 5% to about 5.75% up front as their commission. You can get some good investment advise from some of their brokers and you can get some advice that is not so good. Most is average.
Vanguard is a mutual fund company. They sell mutual funds without a 5% fee. You will not be able to buy their funds at Edward Jones without paying Edward Jones to buy them for you and they will not recommend them.
Besides the 5% fee to buy a mutual fund for you, the funds that Edward Jones might recommend also have annual expenses charged. All mutual funds do. Vanguard’s expenses are among the lowest in the industry. Now there is one thing you need to be aware of. Vanguard does charge an annual fee of about $20 if your amount invested in a mutual fund is less than $10,000 I believe on each fund where you do not meet that minimum. That is one way they keep their expenses low. I believe they will offer you investment advice and help in structuring your IRA to meet your goals. They have a wide selection of mutual funds for you to choose from, more than 100.
They do not do mortgages. At least not to my knowledge.
Here is a link to their site.
https://personal.vanguard.com/us/home
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