Comments on: Schwab Brokerage Lowers Expense Ratios, Beats Vanguard

By: Andy

Andy — Wed, 06 May 2009 21:14:25 +0000

Close… Vanguard’s S&P 500 Index has a gross expense ratio of 0.18%. I was actually just looking at this a couple of minutes ago. https://personal.vanguard.com/us/funds/snapshot?FundId=0040&FundIntExt=INT

Not that it makes your point less valid…

I’ll have to check out Schwab. I’ve been using a Best Buy Rewardzone creidt card for a couple of years. I may check out Schwab’s card.

Edit: Just glanced at Schwab’s choice of Bond Index funds… their expense ratios looked higher than Vanguard’s. Switching is a pain in the butt anyways. I’ll stick with Vanguard…

By: Flexo

Flexo — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:27:52 +0000

Jeremy: Thanks for bringing up Fidelity — I always seem to forget the qualities of the Spartan funds.

By: Jeremy

Jeremy — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:25:57 +0000

The low investment minimum is really nice. But most of the Fidelity Spartan funds have been cheaper than Vanguard for quite a while. Only drawback is their $10k minimum vs. Vanguard’s $3k. So the low minimum with Schwab for this low rate is going to be great for new investors looking to get inexpensive index funds without waiting to have a bunch of cash.

Hopefully the likes of Vanguard and Fidelity follow suit and lower their minimums in the future.

By: Madison

Madison — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:20:20 +0000

I use both Vanguard and Fidelity for their low fee funds. Definitely going to have to put Schwab on the spreadsheet to compare! I already have an account at Schwab for the checking account, so it will be an easy switch if I need to move some money around.

By: James Fowlkes

James Fowlkes — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:05:02 +0000

Wow, this is great news and changes the way I will handle both mine and my clients’ accounts. Thanks for the update!

By: Matt SF

Matt SF — Wed, 06 May 2009 16:04:22 +0000

Schwab has been impressing me lately considering their cashback VISA, and now this. Might have to give them a second look.