With a Vanguard brokerage account, you gain access to a wide array of investment options. In addition to Vanguard funds, you can also choose from non-Vanguard funds, stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds, certificates of deposit, and options. Online trades cost about $25 (or $0.025 per share, whichever is greater), and you'll pay $45 a trade (plus 5 cents a share) for associate-assisted transactions over the phone. If you have more than $100,000 in assets housed at Vanguard, you'll qualify for lower commissions and you won't pay the annual fee of $30 levied on standard accounts.