RESEARCH |

2024
PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey

The 2024 Retirement Plan Adviser Survey sheds light on the criteria that advisers prioritize in fund and recordkeeper selection and reveals which companies advisers most like to work with.

Reported by PLANADVISER
PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey
Retirement Plan Adviser Preferences
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Retirement Plan Adviser Preferences

Retirement Plan Adviser Preferences

Top 5 Criteria Used in Selecting Core Fund Lineups*
1) Performance vs. benchmarks or peer groups67.3%
2) Total performance (5-year return)51.0%
3) Fee structure for plan41.8%
4) Third-party scoring of funds36.7%
5) Management philosophy33.7%
6) Total performance (10-year return)29.6%
7) Upside or downside capture ratio28.6%
8) Alpha, beta and standard deviations25.5%
9) Style drift18.4%
9) Plan demographics18.4%
Most Important Criteria Used in Selecting Core Fund Lineups
1) Performance vs. benchmarks or peer groups44.6%
2) Total performance (5-year return)18.9%
3) Fee structure for plan8.1%
3) Alpha, beta and standard deviations8.1%
5) Total performance (10-year return)4.1%
5) Total assets4.1%
5) Plan demographics4.1%
8) Upside or downside capture ratio2.7%
9) Brand or reputation1.4%
9) Share class availability1.4%
9) Adviser support1.4%
9) Fee structure for adviser1.4%
Top Criteria Used in Selecting QDIA†
1) Pricing and fees57.6%
2) Glide path construction48.5%
3) Plan demographics or participant needs35.4%
4) 5-year performance33.3%
5) Investment philosophy—i.e., active vs. passive27.3%
6) Quality of underlying investments or sub-advisers26.3%
7) 10-year performance15.2%
8) Volatility10.1%
9) Upside or downside capture ratio8.1%
9) 3-year performance8.1%
Top Criteria Used in Selecting Plan Recordkeeper
1) Value for price64.8%
2) Website tools for participants46.2%
3) Fee structure for plan—i.e., fee equalization, basis points vs. fixed, etc.41.8%
4) Quality and consistency of sponsor support39.6%
5) Payroll integration options37.4%
6) Flexibility of recordkeeping systems and processes36.3%
7) Quality and knowledge of service team representatives35.2%
8) Investment options available29.7%
9) Adviser support—i.e., value-added adviser services24.2%
10) Cybersecurity policies and procedures20.9%
Most Recommended Fund Family
1) Fidelity Investments50 votes
1) Vanguard50 votes
3) Capital Group, home of the American Funds42 votes
4) J.P. Morgan Investment Management24 votes
5) PIMCO18 votes
Most Recommended Target-Date Fund Families
1) Capital Group, home of the American Funds56 votes
2) Vanguard48 votes
3) T. Rowe Price37 votes
4) Fidelity Investments31 votes
5) BlackRock22 votes
Most Preferred Asset Managers
1) Capital Group, home of the American Funds57 votes
2) Fidelity Investments56 votes
3) Vanguard43 votes
4) J.P. Morgan Asset Management38 votes
5) T. Rowe Price29 votes
Top 10 Individual Funds Preferred by Plan Advisers
1) Fidelity 500 Index Fund23 votes
2) PIMCO Income Fund13 votes
3) J.P. Morgan Large Cap Growth Fund12 votes
3) Vanguard 500 Index Fund12 votes
5) Putnam Large Cap Value Fund10 votes
6) American Funds The Growth Fund of America7 votes
6) Dodge & Cox Income Fund7 votes
8) American Funds EuroPacific Growth Fund6 votes
9) PGIM Total Return Bond Fund5 votes
10) American Funds American Balanced Fund4 votes
10) American Funds Bond Fund of America4 votes
10) Fidelity Contrafund4 votes
10) Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Fund4 votes
10) Vanguard Small-Cap Index Fund4 votes
10) Vanguard Total Stock Market Index Fund4 votes

*Respondents were asked to select up to five criteria for overall investment selection and up to three criteria for qualified default investment alternative selection.

†Qualified default investment alternative