90% of my $15 million net worth is with Vanguard – am I compromising my financial safety by having too much in one account?

It’s a good idea to invest your money for future goals so it grows while you aren’t using it. And to that end, you can choose from a wide number of brokerages to house your portfolio.

But is it a good idea to invest with multiple brokerages? Or should you keep all of your assets in the same place?

It’s a question this Reddit user is contemplating. They currently have 90% of their net worth in Vanguard, but they’re wondering if they’re taking a risk by doing that.

My opinion is that they’re not necessarily taking a huge risk. But it’s also not a bad idea to branch out.

You may be okay with one brokerage account only

Having all of your assets in the same brokerage account could make them easier to keep tabs on. So that’s a good reason to stick to a single account.

But you may be worried that doing so could cause you to lose money if, say, that brokerage is compromised or hacked. And that’s understandable.

You should know that many brokerages offer protection against unauthorized activity. And also, the Securities Investor Protection Corporation (SIPC) provides protection to investors in the event a brokerage account goes under. So keeping all of your portfolio in a single brokerage account isn’t necessarily a terrible thing.

Of course, you should take steps to protect your account, like monitoring it for suspicious activity on a regular basis and changing your password every few months (plus using a secure password to begin with, as opposed to your initials and your birthday). But many people keep all of their assets in a single account so their portfolios are easier to manage.

Why it pays to have more than one brokerage account

There can be benefits to using more than one brokerage account to house your assets. First, you never know when one account might experience a temporary outage. That could cause you to miss out on a trading opportunity, so it could help to have another brokerage account you can transact in.

Also, different brokerage accounts offer different features, so branching out might make your life easier as an investor. And in some cases, it could result in savings, depending on the fees your brokerage account charges.

That said, if you’re going to hold multiple brokerage accounts, you’ll need to commit to checking all of them regularly. You’ll also need to integrate them in some way to make sure your portfolio is appropriately diversified, and to make sure your asset mix is as balanced as it should be. Finally, you should check to see how easy it is to transfer funds or assets between accounts.

If you feel that having more than one brokerage account will give you the most peace of mind, then it’s not a bad thing to do that. But you may also want to ask a financial advisor what they think you should do. A financial advisor can also help you find the optimal brokerage account, or accounts, based on factors that include fees, ease of use, and the specific assets you’re hoping to invest in.

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