I worked with Vanguard’s personal advisory service until recently. I wrote about why in this post five years ago.
The good news is that the research and the thesis/reasoning behind going with Vanguard panned out as well as I’d have hoped. However, a few years in, I found myself wanting a bit more flexibility in approach. But Vanguard’s scale made that hard.
And, just when I was beginning to wonder if it was time to try something different, my long-time advisor decided to leave and join a smaller firm for the same reasons. The decision was easy.
But, even as the move played out, I appreciated how thorough Vanguard were in the exit process. They followed up a few times just to make sure they could do a quick exit interview and get feedback.
Three reflections:
(1) Companies celebrate scaling – it is capitalism at its finest. But as a company scales its operations, it inevitably loses its personal touch. I love that Vanguard has thoughtful systems like exit interviews for customers. But it is always a great reminder of the fact that – especially as a customer – scale isn’t always what it is cracked up to be.
(2) There was a nice moment in the exit interview when I shared that I was following my current advisor. The gentleman said “Makes sense. We’re in a relationships business after all.” It made me reflect on the idea that so many businesses are relationship businesses at the end of the day. Again, with scale, that’s easy to forget.
(3) I’ve spoken to many folks over the years about the approach they take to their finances. Every time I’ve done so, I’ve realized that deciding how to manage our finances is a very personal decision as it is driven primarily by our level of interest in the topic. People who are passionate about it do a great job. Others, like me, prefer working with a human we trust. As is the case with so many important questions, there’s no right answer.
Just what’s right for us given our preferences and constraints at this point of time.
