Vanguard no longer sits atop the leader board in J.D. Power’s annual U.S. Self-Directed Investor Satisfaction Study: The firm’s two-year run was ended by Fidelity and Charles Schwab.

With a score of 807 out of 1,000, Fidelity took the No. 1 spot in the Seeking Guidance Satisfaction Index Ranking, which J.D. Power describes as representative of those who don’t have a financial advisor and are looking for guidance.

This year, Schwab captured the lead with 805 points in the DIY Satisfaction Index Ranking, after being ranked second last year with 800 points.  Vanguard was second with 800 points. Last year, Vanguard had the No. 1 ranking with 830 points, while Fidelity scored 790, enough for third place.

Mike Foy, Senior Director, Wealth Management Practice, said Vanguard was unseated because Schwab and Fidelity improved in terms of having planning tools that are valuable to investors. They also scored well in interacting with advisors and being responsive to millennials.

“One of the things we see in the media over the last couple of years are the challenges for Vanguard at scaling their support, their availability to service customers,’’ Foy added.

The study, which measures self-directed investors’ satisfaction with their investment firm based on performance in a number of factors, focused on two segments – the Seeking Guidance and the DIY investors. It also looked at how millennial investors differ from boomers.

The seeking guidance segment was based on eight factors (in order of importance): firm interaction, account information, investment performance, information resources, financial advisor, commissions and fees, product offerings and problem resolution.

The DIY segment focused on seven areas (in order of importance): interaction, account information, commissions and fees, product offerings, information resources, investment performance and problem resolution.

The study, conducted from November 2018 through January 2019, is based on responses from 5,418 investors who make all their investment decisions without the counsel of a personal advisor. The study also looked at the how millennial investors differ from boomers.

Millennials, the study showed, are less satisfied with their investment firm than their elders. They also are less loyal and trusting. They are surprisingly more likely to have investment goals than their elders (83 percent versus 74 percent), and more likely to embrace Exchange-Traded Funds (EFTs) and other passive instruments over individual stock selection, the study showed.

The study also indicated that millennials have a strong interest in financial guidance, including seeking advice on digital platforms. In addition, it noted that the younger generation of investors are significantly more likely to be female; more likely to have a college degree; less likely to be white; and less likely to be married.

Foy noted that millennials are a critical segment, the largest demographic group in terms of representation in the workforce. “They have high expectations. Even those with high satisfaction scores, they are willing to leave if a better opportunity comes along."