How to open a Coverdell Education Savings Account (ESA) with Vanguard

A Coverdell Education Savings Account (sometimes called an "Education IRA") is a way to invest money for college education so that the money will grow tax free. Vanguard, a large low-cost mutual fund company, allows you to open an ESA with no fees and invest in good mutual funds. Here's how to open an account.

Go to www.vanguard.com
Under the "Personal Investors" heading, click the "Go to the site" link.
On the page that comes up, click on the "Accounts Types and Services" tab.
On the right hand side, there is a box that says "Open an account". Click the "Invest Now" button.
Under the "Ready to begin?" heading, click "Invest Now"
If you already have an account, sign in. If you don't, click the link that says "Open a new account".
Under "Step 1" click on "Save for college and children".
In step 2, click on the "Show more >>" link at the bottom.
Still in step 2, select "Education Savings"
In step 3, select "Vanguard mutual funds" and click "Continue"
Fill out the personal information and open the account.


  • To avoid fees, allow for electronic delivery of all documents.
  • To make life easy, have Vanguard automatically draft money from your bank account biweekly or monthly.
  • Others can also contribute to the ESA - up to $2000 per child per year.



Copyright 2009 by Michael Nehring