I don't think it was a glitch. I think it was a legal compliance issue.But for most people, it would be better if far fewer of such glitches occurred. (Additionally, many people might just think X isn't possible, rather than spend time calling Vanguard to find out if there's a way a Vanguard employee can find a way to do X.)I seem to recall this occurring when I transitioned a couple years ago but the permissions were restored very quickly. Just this week had to add permissions for a trust, which is not supported via self service. Filled out form, sent by secure message, got next day ack, and 1-2 days later permission was granted. No problem.
And if more things could be done via self-service.
I don't want to spend time figuring out some detail, then find out there's a roadblock on the Vanguard website that prevents me from doing something. That wastes my time. Even if they fix it within a few days, I still have to find time to focus on the problem again; come back to the issue I was dealing with; refresh my memory about the issue; and then deal with the issue.
That sort of thing is very annoying if there should have been a way for me to handle X via self-service, so I could then address the issue I was originally working on. (Or if Vanguard should have designed the website better to prevent various glitches.)
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I also agree with others who have said Vanguard's website isn't as intuitive as it could be. All these little headaches add up. I will admit, Vanguard's website could be worse - I deal with Voya's website for a 457b and there are far more problems. But Vanguard's website still has a lot of room for improvement (I only deal with Vanguard's IRA/taxable brokerage website; no Vanguard 401k/403b account).
You had a mutual fund account for which you gave someone else permission to view.
Now you have a new brokerage account, which is a different type of account with different capabilities and it is with a different legal entity under the Vanguard umbrella. Therefore they wanted to make sure you still want to grant access given the new capabilities and they MUST ask given you are now doing business with a different company, legally.
My recent issue was also legal, I had a trust, and in order to grant access to a trust to a different person, they want to see a copy of parts of the trust document and sign a form claiming you as trustee have legal rights to grant access to a delegate.
None of this is a glitch, but rather intentional and the correct thing to do.
PS I worked in the fund and brokerage business for 4 decades in IT but often working on legal and compliance issues closely with the legal team.
PPS Usability (intuitive as you stated) is a matter of opinion, not fact. You can ask many people about each and every major broker and get many opinions on how intuitive the site might be. Pointless to argue and make such statements. Frankly, I find every single bank and brokerage site I have ever used, easy to find what I need and get my tasks done. I have used Vanguard, Fidelity, eTrade, Citi, and others years ago. No problem with any of them. All I care is that the features are there, and the site is up and running, doing what you need to do.
Statistics: Posted by beyou — Fri Mar 29, 2024 12:46 am — Replies 1524 — Views 170222