Vanguard is telling account holders that if they want to keep getting paper statements, tax forms, or mutual fund annual reports in the mail and don't have at least $1 million with Vanguard, "you may be subject to a $20 annual account service fee per Vanguard Brokerage Account."
The timing of this is strange. After years of gains, the stock and bond markets are down, and Vanguard decides that now it's a good time to stop mailing shareholders statements and mutual fund reports that allow them to see how much they have lost?
Also, given that Vanguard has earned a reputation over the years for low fees and for welcoming customers who aren't yet wealthy, the $20 per account for everyone without $1 million seems fairly steep.
In a blog post about the matter, Adviser Investments comments, "If your fund holdings might be impacted by this new fee—or if you just can't tell whether they will or not, as Vanguard's announcements about the change have been confusing at best—this may be the time to consider moving your accounts to either Fidelity or Schwab. If you don't have $1 million to invest, Vanguard doesn't seem all that eager to keep your business."
Maybe it's an environmental measure to save paper, but if so why should the pressure to save paper be all on the account holders with less than $1 million?
I have no problem with Vanguard setting its prices as it pleases or charging lower fees to bigger customers (something it already does with its Admiral and institutional share classes), but as Adviser Investment observes, the message being sent to customers here, in a competitive market, seems pretty clear.