Brokerage accounts

Saving for a new home or car? Create a standard investing account to save for any goals. The investments you choose within the account could help your savings grow.

What's a brokerage account?

A brokerage account is a standard nonretirement investing account. You can hold mutual funds, ETFs (exchange-traded funds), stocks, bonds, and more, which can generate returns and help you grow your savings. Use it to save for any goal, and take your money out anytime with no early withdrawal penalty.

$0 to open

There's no fee or minimum investment amount to open an account with us. You can simply open an account for free.*

Flexible

You can use the account to save for anything you need—like a trip or emergency savings. You can do it all with 1 account.

No contribution limits

There are no annual contribution limits on nonretirement brokerage accounts. You can set aside as much as you'd like to build toward your goals.

No early withdrawal penalties

With no early withdrawal penalties on nonretirement brokerage accounts, you can access your money when you need it.

Wondering what it costs to invest with us?

4 simple steps to open an account

Open your Vanguard Brokerage Account and start investing today!

Choose account type

Select an account type based on your goals (retirement, general investing, education, etc.). You can open 1 account at a time.

Explore investments

It can take 3 to 7 days for your money to become available for investing. During that time, you can explore products such as ETFs and mutual funds to decide which investments are right for you.

Place your trade

Once your money has fully transferred to your account, you can start investing. To get started, log in to your Vanguard account to place a trade or set up an automatic investment.

Brokerage account versus other accounts

Compare other accounts to the nonretirement Vanguard Brokerage Account and see which may fit your investing goals and needs best.



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Want to learn more?

How does online trading work?

Online trading should be easy. See what it looks like at Vanguard.

The home for all your investments

Consolidate all your assets at Vanguard to see your entire investment portfolio at a glance.

Brokerage built for you

We're your market advocate. We put you first by striving to get you the best price for your trades.

The role of your settlement fund

The role of your settlement fund
Your settlement fund paves the way for buying and selling brokerage products.

Making smart brokerage transactions just got easier

Making smart brokerage transactions just got even easier
We recently updated the way you buy and sell stocks and ETFs on vanguard.com.

Smart investment strategies

Smart investment strategies
There's no magic formula for managing your investments—but these few things come pretty close.

Frequently asked questions

The risks your portfolio will face depends on the type of investments you hold within the account. Some of these risks could be—liquidity, market, political, business, inflation, credit, currency, or more.

Vanguard Brokerage Account is the name for the brokerage accounts you can open through us.

No, brokerage accounts aren't FDIC-insured. FDIC insurance only applies to deposit accounts, such as checking and savings accounts, at participating banks. Brokerage accounts hold investments such as stocks, bonds, and mutual funds, which aren't insured by the FDIC.

Vanguard accounts are protected by Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) insurance. This insurance covers up to $500,000 in securities and up to $250,000 in cash if the firm fails. This coverage is automatic and doesn't require any action on the part of Vanguard clients.

Learn more about FDIC and SIPC insurance

Yes, you can open and hold as many brokerage accounts as you'd like. For instance, you might have an IRA brokerage account to help you save for retirement, in addition to a nonretirement brokerage account you can use to build wealth or save for a big purchase.

You typically need a brokerage account to buy stocks. This is because brokers like Vanguard act as intermediaries between investors and the stock market. We help facilitate the buying and selling of stocks on your behalf.

You must buy and sell Vanguard ETF Shares through Vanguard Brokerage Services (we offer them commission-free online) or through another broker (who may charge commissions). See the Vanguard Brokerage Services Commission and Fee Schedules for limits. Vanguard ETF Shares are not redeemable directly with the issuing Fund other than in very large aggregations worth millions of dollars. ETFs are subject to market volatility. When buying or selling an ETF, you will pay or receive the current market price, which may be more or less than net asset value.