Vanguard Investors May Be In For a Shock

[lordsummerisle]

Last edited Thu Dec 3, 2015, 11:46 PM - Edit history (1)

from David Cay Johnson:

If you are among the 20 million Americans saving for retirement through Vanguard, you may be in for an expensive shock. The nation’s second-largest mutual fund company (after Fidelity) is under fire for not taking more of your money. That sounds ridiculous, but based on arcane provisions of the endlessly complex U.S. tax code, the Pennsylvania-based company may soon be forced to pay a staggering amount of back taxes because of the famously low fees it charges to manage your nest egg.

http://www.newsweek.com/vanguard-whistleblower-tax-dodge-complaint-400901

[progree]

1. Hmm. Fidelity's 500 Index Fund has a 0.05% expense ratio

Last edited Fri Dec 4, 2015, 05:22 PM - Edit history (1)

http://www.morningstar.com/funds/xnas/fusvx/quote.html

So I doubt very much that Vanguard is going to have to charge $8.20 per $1,000 (0.82%) in "expenses" that they don't have, while Fidelity gets away with an expense of $0.50 per $1,000 (0.05%). Unless Fidelity is cheating too.

Similarly Schwab's S&P 500 index fund's expense ratio is 0.09%. So I guess Schwab is cheating too.

http://www.morningstar.com/funds/XNAS/SWPPX/quote.html

http://www.schwab.com/public/schwab/investing/accounts_products/investment/mutual_funds/schwab_mutual_funds/equity/index

And will they also go after credit unions, which are member-owned and similarly structured? About 10 years ago, the banks whined about the advantages credit unions were getting, but legislation to "fix that" was soundly defeated.

[lordsummerisle]

2. What bothers me about this story

is the whistleblower...usually you become a whistleblower to do the right thing and expose wrongs. In this case David Danon could actually become a multi-billionaire for doing this...

[progree]

3. I think something of that magnitude is about as likely to happen as a big rise in the capital gains

tax rate or the estate tax rates. I'm sure a lot of congress people and wealthy people have Vanguard investments, given that it has 1/5 of the market. And, practically speaking, Congress funds the IRS, and is already putting a hard squeeze on it.

[lordsummerisle]

4. I was thinking the same thing

I'm guessing there are enough influential Vanguard investors to make sure that it can continue to provide its services without additional costs...

[klook]

8. Let me get this straight.

Vanguard is being punished because it doesn't charge the same ripoff fees that other mutual fund companies do?

Fucking ridiculous.

This jerk's "whistleblower" complaints are nothing but self-serving trolling.

[lordsummerisle]

9. My thoughts as well. n/t