Alternative
Vanguard Direct Indexing Alternatives: Vanguard Personalized Indexing Is Advisor-Only
Vanguard Personalized Indexing is a serious institutional product, built on the Just Invest business Vanguard bought in 2021, and it does the direct-indexing job properly: it owns the individual stocks in a separately managed account, scans daily for tax-loss harvesting, and applies screens and tilts the client asks for. The problem for most people researching it is simply that they cannot buy it. It is an advisor-distributed product, so the path runs through a financial advisor rather than a Vanguard login, and Vanguard does not publish the minimum or the fee anywhere public. That matters more than it sounds: whatever the underlying management fee turns out to be, your advisor charges their own fee on top of it, which is frequently around 1% a year and can dwarf the direct-indexing fee itself. Indexes is a different tool for a different moment. It is informational and educational, track-and-analyze not trade. You design the index yourself, weight stocks and crypto in the same basket, backtest it against real market history, and follow it against benchmarks over time. Nothing is custodied, no trade is placed, and there is no gatekeeper. If you are trying to work out what you would actually want a direct-indexing account to hold before you call an advisor, that is the question this answers.
Last updated July 2026
In short
You cannot sign up for Vanguard direct indexing as a retail investor. Vanguard Personalized Indexing is distributed through financial advisors only, and Vanguard's own product page is labeled "For financial advisors only. Not for public distribution." Vanguard publishes neither a minimum nor a fee for it, and third-party coverage generally reports a minimum near $250,000 reached through an advisor, which means an advisory fee stacks on top. Indexes is not a brokerage and does not own shares or harvest losses. It is the design step in front of that decision: build a weighted index from stocks and crypto, backtest it against real market history, and track it versus the S&P 500 or BTC, with no advisor, no account and no minimum.
Side by side
Indexes vs Vanguard
| Capability | Indexes | Vanguard |
|---|---|---|
| Design a custom weighted index yourself | Advisor-configured screens and tilts | |
| Stocks and crypto in one index | US equities only | |
| Backtest against real market history | ||
| Available without a financial advisor | ||
| Owns the shares for you | ||
| Automated daily tax-loss harvesting | ||
| Account minimum | None | Not published (reported near $250K) |
| Annual fee model | Flat software fee | Not published, plus your advisor fee |
| Analyze-only, never places trades |
Comparison reflects general product positioning and is provided in good faith. Verify current capabilities with each vendor.
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Build, backtest, and track, self-serve
Educational only · Never places a trade
Questions
Vanguard direct indexing, answered
What is Vanguard Personalized Indexing?
Vanguard Personalized Indexing is Vanguard's direct-indexing product, built on the Just Invest business it acquired in 2021. It holds the individual stocks of an index in a separately managed account, scans daily for tax-loss harvesting opportunities, and applies the screens or tilts a client wants. It is delivered to clients through financial advisors rather than sold direct.
Can I get Vanguard direct indexing as a retail investor?
Not directly. Vanguard Personalized Indexing is distributed through financial advisors, and Vanguard's product page is marked "For financial advisors only. Not for public distribution." To access it you generally need to work with an advisor who offers it, rather than turning it on inside a regular Vanguard brokerage account.
What is the minimum for Vanguard Personalized Indexing?
Vanguard does not publish a minimum for it. Third-party coverage generally reports a figure near $250,000 accessed through an advisor, but Vanguard has not confirmed that publicly, so treat any number you read as unofficial. Ask the advisor quoting it to put the actual minimum and fee in writing.
How much does Vanguard direct indexing cost?
Vanguard does not publish a fee for Personalized Indexing. Reported figures cluster near 0.20% a year, but that is unconfirmed. The number that usually matters more is your advisor's own fee, often around 1% a year, which is charged on top. Get the all-in cost, not just the strategy fee, before comparing it to a 0.03% index fund.
Is there a Vanguard direct indexing alternative with no minimum?
If you want an account that owns the shares and harvests losses, the self-serve options are Fidelity Managed FidFolios at $5,000, Wealthfront S&P 500 Direct at $5,000, or Frec from $20,000, none of which need an advisor. If you want to design, backtest and track an index without funding anything, Indexes does that with no minimum because it is an analysis tool, not a brokerage.
New to the strategy? Start with our guide to direct indexing, what it costs and who it suits, or see how much direct indexing costs across providers.
Build your index and see how it backtests
Bundle stocks or crypto into your own weighted index, backtest it against real market history, and track it against the S&P 500 or BTC. Prosumer pricing, no brokerage account. Indexes is educational and informational only, and it never places a trade. Decide for yourself.