Let’s face it: Vanguard has amazing financial and investment products but their website and app make those products difficult to use at times. So, how do you login to Vanguard most efficiently and securely?
The best way to log into Vanguard in the web is to use Vanguard personal investor login screen. If you are on the go frequently, you may also want to check out vanguards mobile app. In order to protect your account, you can implement several security measures such as account access restriction, two-factor authentication, and and security questions.
Introduction
In this article we’ll discuss some of Vanguard’s login options as well as some website security issues. I’ll start by pointing out the three main methods that exist to login and access your funds.
In the following section, I’ll go through how to set up a first-time username and password with Vanguard and how to reset your login credentials. Lastly, we’ll also look at how to set up two-factor authentication to keep your Vanguard login secure.
FYI: The best way I've found to invest in ETFs is through M1 Finance. It's free and you even get an instant line of credit! Have a look here (link to M1 Finance).
Vanguard Login Options
Since Vanguard gives you a bunch of different options to login and access your account, we will go through a few of them right here. You can either access your account through Vanguard’s website and make use of their personal, investor, or retirement login or you can access your account and your funds through the Vanguard app.
There are pros and cons to all of these methods which I will discuss in the section below. which of these methods you will use to access your account and login will mostly depend on your account status with Vanguard.
So let’s start with the default login screen – the personal login screen – and see how you can securely log in to Vanguard.
Vanguard Personal Login
The first option you are presented way when trying to log into your Vanguard account is the personal login screen. This is the default login screen for all personal and retail investors: https://personal.vanguard.com/us/hnwnesc/nesc/LoginPage
If you are visiting this website on your mobile device, you will recognize that it is that it has not been optimized for mobile use. This is one of the features most lacking in Vanguard’s web and user interface.
To login to your Vanguard account simply put in your username and password. then hit the submit button below and it should take you straight to your account overview.
Vanguard Investor Login
The Vanguard investor login screen looks smoother and more simple to use than the personal one. Basically, however, there is no difference between the two. you can use either one to log into your Vanguard account.
As opposed to the personal Vanguard login screen, this investor login screen is actually mobile-friendly. Thus, if you are a frequent traveler and use your mobile devices to check your investment can’t, I recommend that you bookmark the following link: https://investor.vanguard.com/my-account/log-on
The above link will take you straight to the Vanguard investor login screen. When you are on the road simply access your bookmarks and tap the link above to log in securely to your Vanguard account.
Vanguard Retirement Login
A third option you have to log in to Vanguard’s web interface is to use their retirement login screen. This option is only available if you have a retirement account with Vanguard. Follow this link to log into your Vanguard retirement account: https://my.vanguardplan.com/vanguard/account/login
On this login screen, you will not have the option to enter your username and password immediately, but you will have to enter your username first and then hit the next button below. This may be an additional security feature possibly preventing unauthorized access to your account.
While this Vanguard login screen is the most mobile-friendly out of all three it’s serves as a reminder to actually use the Vanguard app. In the next paragraph I will discuss all Vanguard login options related to the Vanguard app and go through each of them individually.
Vanguard App Login
When a company creates an app, it is supposed to facilitate the user’s interaction with the products. In the case of Vanguard, however, the app is not necessarily an improvement to the accessibility of their investment products.
As many users have pointed out, the app seems to be merely vanguard’s entire website compressed into a smaller space. Nonetheless, it serves as a faster login on the go when you need to check your investment Portfolio but not conduct any important transaction.
The Vanguard sign-in process through the app is simple and convenient and provides a viable alternative to the web login interfaces. Simply type in your favorite username and password and hit the login button. You even have the option to remember your username for convenient later use.
NOTE: The easiest way to add diversification to your portfolio is to invest in real estate through Fundrise. You can become private real estate investor without the burden of property management! Check it out here (link to Fundrise).
Vanguard Login Reset
When it comes to our investment and financial products, safety is of course the number one concern. Vanguard’s login and sign in procedure offers some options to secure your account more effectively and prevent unauthorized access to your funds.
The second aspect to fund safety is Vanguard Information technology use itself which I have already discussed in another blog post.
Setting up Username and Password
If you have forgotten your password you will be able to either reset your password or restore access to your Vanguard account. the process for restoring access to your account is the same as signing up with Vanguard in the first place.
In the first step you will have to enter your personal information and verify your identity by submitting the relevant documents. This will allow being on to identify you as the true owner of the account and to subsequently restore your Vanguard login access.
The second step is to set up your username and password as you like you like. here you may choose the same password as before or decide to to choose a completely new combination to login.
The third step then consists of setting up your additional security features as I will discuss later in this post. I highly recommend setting up the two-factor authentication to prevent unauthorized access to your account even though this can make logging into your Vanguard account a bit more cumbersome.
Vanguard Login Password Reset
The second option you have to log into your Vanguard account when you have forgotten your password is to simply reset your password.
In order for this to work you will have to provide your first name last name the last four digits of your social security number your zip code and you are registered mailing address.
The password reset is usually the quickest way to regain access and login to your Vanguard account once you have lost your password.
FYI: Another great way to get exposure to the real estate sector is by investing in real estate debt. Groundfloor offers fantastic short-term, high-yield bonds that can add diversification to your portfolio!
Vanguard Login Security
In the following section we will discuss and dive a bit deeper into Vanguard login security issues as I have outlined above.
You will find all the relevant security settings when logging into your account and navigating to the account security section under your account settings.
It is highly recommended that you implement at least one of the following methods to secure your Vanguard account and login safely:
Vanguard Account Access Restriction
The first option you have and probably the simplest option is to set up Vanguard account access restriction. when this option is enabled it will prevent anyone including you from accessing and logging in to your Vanguard account from an unauthorized computer.
So, be careful when activating this option since you may lock yourself out of your account if you plan on signing into Vanguard from a different device than usual.
However, the process of setting up the access restriction with Vanguard is fairly simple: navigate to the account access restriction tab in your security settings menu and select to restrict unrecognized computers and devices from accessing your account.
Simply hit the submit button and you will have taken yet another step in securing your Vanguard login credentials.
Two-factor Authentication
Another measure you may opt to take in order to protect your Vanguard sign-in process is to enable two-factor authentication. Two-factor authentication requires you to submit an additional code every time you log in and access your Vanguard account.
There are two options you have with regards to the security code: You can either have your cold delivered by text message to your verified phone number or choose to have your code delivered to a security key device that you own.
For most people, the delivery via SMS will work just fine since such a hardware key is not widely available.
It is unfortunate that Vanguard does not provide the option to use a third-party authenticator such as Google authenticator since these have been proven to be much more secure and resistant to hacking then SIM cards and phone numbers have been.
Security Questions
The last step you may take in securing your account and logging into Vanguard safely is to answer and save your security questions with Vanguard. these will also come in handy if you lose your password or are unable to receive your authentication code.
However, keep in mind that these security questions offer only mild protection against hacking and social engineering since all of the given information could theoretically be obtained by an unauthorized person trying to access your account.
You can choose among a variety of questions such as what is the middle name of your father, would place did you grow up in karma and what’s your first pet’s name.
ALSO: Small-cap equities can add a lot of upside to a portfolio while mitigating risks. Recently, I've discovered Mainvest's investment platform which makes it easy to invest in small and local businesses with returns of 10-25%. Take a look here (link to Mainvest).
Conclusion
As we have seen Vanguard offers a lot of options for you to access your Vanguard account and sign in securely.
You can sign into Vanguard’s web interface using either the personal, investor or retirement login. If you are on the go, you might want to consider Vanguard’s mobile app for logging in. However, I don’t recommend you use the mobile app for much else comma because it is quite poorly put together and designed.
There are also a variety of security measures you can implement to protect your account from unauthorized access.
Setting up two Factor authentication will be the most effective way to protect your account and log into Vanguard securely. The other two methods you can use also offers some mild protection.
Current recommendations:
Over the past years, I have discovered several tools and products that have helped me tremendously on my path to financial freedom:
P.S.: The links below are affiliate links, which means I receive a small commission at no extra cost to you when you sign up for one of the services. Thank you for your support!
1)Personal Capital is simply the best tool out there to track your net worth and plan for financial freedom. Just their retirement planner alone has become an invaluable tool to keep myself on track financially. Try it out, it's free!
2) Take a look at M1 Finance, my favorite broker. I love how easy it is to invest and maintain my portfolio with them. I can set up automatic transfers, rebalance my portfolio with one click and even borrow up to 35% of my assets at super low interest rates!
3) Fundrise is by far the best way I've found to invest in Real Estate. You can diversify your portfolio by investing in their eREITs or even allocate capital to individual properties (without the hassle of managing tenants!).
4) Groundfloor is another great way to get exposure to the real estate sector by investing in short-term, high-yield real estate debt. Current returns are >10% and you can get started with just $10.
5) If you are interested in startup investing, check out Mainvest. I've started allocating a small amount of assets to invest in and support small businesses. Return targets are between 10-25% and you can start with just $100!
To see all of my most up-to-date recommendations, check out the Recommended Tools section.
I started this blog because I believe that money is just a means to an end: to be free to spend your time as you wish, to maximize your positive impact on the world.
To track my progress towards complete financial independence I use Personal Capital. Most of my monthly surplus I invest in Vanguard ETFs with M1 Finance. I use the dividends (plus their 'borrow' option) to invest in real estate deals with Fundrise.
Finally, I invest the real estate distributions into startups using Mainvest and high-yield real estate debt with Groundfloor.
