Vanguard: Save, Invest, Retire

As many users have already pointed out the update has removed virtually every useful feature that existed in the previous version. The new version treats the user like a 3-year old. Large fonts displaying minimal information. Toggle buttons that do nothing other than make the font, or graph, even larger but adding nothing of value. It’s insulting. Most likely explanation is they no longer want you to manage your own accounts and are trying to force you to sign up for their expensive “Personal Advisor Service” to get any guidance on managing your account. Also, do not be fooled by the high overall rating as the overall rating reflects high marks for previous versions. This is an entirely new and different app. You need to look at the most recent ratings 95% of which are 1 star and accompanied with some of the most negative comments I’ve ever seen. UPDATED REVIEW. They finally pulled the support for the old App. After a year or more of negative reviews, 1 star ratings, and pleas by many customers to keep supporting the old app, they pulled. Just a message to download the new app. Nothing has been changed in the last year. None of features that made the old app useful have been added. None of the old analysis has been restored. None of guidance on how to manage your portfolio has been restored. Bottom line if you want an app that you can actually use to help self-manage your account consider changing to a different brokerage firm. I opened a trial account at Fidelity. So far it’s been great.

If you were buying and selling stock in your Vanguard account this new app has eliminated 95% of necessary information. Please read all the most recent (November 2021) reviews to learn of the many features that have been removed. One has to go through three screens to find out how many shares one owns of a particular stock. If you place an order you can no longer change the order but you are now forced to cancel your order and go through the entire order process again just for a change. If you want to see if your dividends were paid by each company forget it because they removed the “History” section of your transactions. Much more is missing but other reviews have mentioned other particulars. The app is geared to a five year old and not built with a stock transaction in mind. Updating an app is supposed to provide enhancing the quality of information needed to improve your experience but not the this useless application. When I called Vanguard to ask why they eliminated information the customer service representative said “I haven’t been trained yet in the new app so I can’t help in answering your questions.” He then suggested I log on to my laptop. I don’t carry my laptop around with me but I use my smartphone to conduct all my other business transactions banking, insurance, medical etc. So the customer service representative gave me the true answer on their app——carry your laptop around to do business because this app doesn’t serve you when using your phone.

I rarely write reviews, but in light of recent events, I think it’s time to give credit to the Vanguard Group for being one of the few who did not try to suppress the common man from participating in the “free market” during one of the greatest transferences of wealth in our history. Many other platforms participated in protecting the interests of the super wealthy, and pretending they had the interests of small retail investors in mind. It’s OUR money, we know what the risks are! (at least most of us do). Ethics and morals aside, I will say the app itself could use certain improvements, even the site itself. As far as I can tell, there’s no way to buy or sell options through the app, the actual website must be used. I also wish their platform was able to refresh market prices at a much faster rate, to execute better orders at any given moment. If Vanguard can add a touch of modern or advanced tools for more experienced traders, that would be the icing on the cake. Overall, this is a stand up brokerage firm. Give them your business, no regrets yet.