Vanguard vs. Edward Jones Investing Question?

I am 24 yrs old and have been starting to do some research on investing. I would definitely like to start a roth IRA and possibly a separate IRA in addition to my work 403(b) account. I have been reading how Edward Jones is a reputable company that give you the "one on one" attention but charge about 5% up front on every dollar you invest, if I read correctly? I have heard better opinions on Vanguard due to their rates being lower, but I can't seem to find out how much less than Edward Jones.

Secondly, does Vanguard just do Investments or do they offer personal banking options and mortgage loans? I am looking to buy a house in the next year and wanted to know if they have that service also. Obviously, I new to this and looking for some help.

As already mentioned Edward Jones is a broker organization. If you buy a mutual fund from them they will indeed charge you about 5% to about 5.75% up front as their commission. You can get some good investment advise from some of their brokers and you can get some advice that is not so good. Most is average.

Vanguard is a mutual fund company. They sell mutual funds without a 5% fee. You will not be able to buy their funds at Edward Jones without paying Edward Jones to buy them for you and they will not recommend them.

Besides the 5% fee to buy a mutual fund for you, the funds that Edward Jones might recommend also have annual expenses charged. All mutual funds do. Vanguard's expenses are among the lowest in the industry. Now there is one thing you need to be aware of. Vanguard does charge an annual fee of about $20 if your amount invested in a mutual fund is less than $10,000 I believe on each fund where you do not meet that minimum. That is one way they keep their expenses low. I believe they will offer you investment advice and help in structuring your IRA to meet your goals. They have a wide selection of mutual funds for you to choose from, more than 100.

They do not do mortgages. At least not to my knowledge.

Here is a link to their site.

https://personal.vanguard.com/us/home

Edward Jones will advise you where to put your money based on your personal goals and income, and they take a fee for doing so. Vanguard just sell mutual funds, and charge lower fees because they offer no advice.

If you don't have the time (or the desire) to learn the basics of investment, Edward Jones is a great choice...

Edward Jones is a brokerage; Vanguard is, fundamentally, a mutual fund house. So you need to decide what type of investments you want to hold in your IRA to make the best choice.

I personally wouldn't give ed jones my money if they were the last broker on the face of the earth....but that's just me. In my opinion your infinately much better off investing with vanguard....ed jones is not out to help you make money, they're sole objective (in my opinion) is to make money off you and sell you crappy mutual funds with high fees. But this is just my opinion...there are others.

As far as buying a house, you will do much better to go to a bank and shop around for the best rates and best overall package. Your chances of getting a decent loan from ed jones that saves you money are impossibly slim....remember, they are not there to save you money or make you money, they sole purpose is to take your money, in my opinion. But to be fair, that's also the case with all the major brokers, not just ed jones...so I shouldn't be picking on them.

Vanguard has pretty much the same programs as all the other brokers, but they are not out to steal your money, so you will be better off with them over time than the other brokers...that's my opinion.

All good info above, so I wont repeat. I personally think everyone should get financial advice, because it goes well beyond the investment for your IRA. They may have some tax strategies later on for you, and help you with your 403b as well for no fee since you are a client.

also- 5% upfront fee is common on broker sold funds, but you can ask what other sales charge schedules or fund classes they sell if you really want to avoid that. plus that 5% gets discounted as you add money.

edward jones is also known for pretty solid stock reccomendations as well (although they are conservative), so you may benefit from that.

vanguard could work if you have your plan set and go after it,but if you want advice along with it- go with the advisor.