I will start out by saying i'm pretty clueless about the markets although I am trying to learn....
From what i've seen a site like Ameritrade allows me to buy vanguard index funds as well as a wide range of other things. So even if I am just a passive investor why is Vanguard better than a site like Ameritrade?
Also, I'd bypass Ameritrade and go through Vanguard. If you use Ameritrade they are sure to charge you a fee that is higher than Vanguard's already ultra low fees.
Ameritrade is a broker, Vanguard is a mutual fund provider. While you can purchase mutual funds through Ameritrade, read the fine print. There are extra fees for doing this.
Vanguard has extremely low expense ratios and a wide selection of funds. In addition, they lack some of the problems that other index fund providers sometimes have.
Vanguard is clearly the best for individuals, but other fund companies provide the same benefits and services too. Don't lose sleep if you use Fidelity or another company.
I've had nothing but good experiences with Vanguard's CS, actually.
They seemed like a bunch of ******s to me. Something got screwed up with an account of mine there. I must have talked to 10 different people, and I got 10 totally different answers/explanations. It took me 3 weeks to actually get to a guy that wasn't part of the standard 800 number customer service system. He solved my problem in about 10 minutes.
