Retirement help - Fidelity versus TIAA-CREF vs Voya vs Valic

[owenp21]

Hoping for some guidance...

I'm a new (part-time) attending and am being offered a retirement to participate in a retirement program where I put in 3% of my salary and the state university system contributes an additional 8%. It's a no-brainer to participate. I'm being offered the option of 4 management companies and wanted any input in choosing one over the other.

They are: Fidelity, TIAA-CREF, Voya, and Valic.

I currently have an a 2050 target fund in TIAA-CREF from residency and another retirement account with Vanguard.

Any reason to choose one company versus another?

Thanks

[nachos31]

That is a nice match/contribution! What are the investment options offered with each company? I'd probably go with Fidelity, but I'd look at what funds are offered with each company. You want to look for funds with the word "index" in them and that have very low expense ratios (ERs; the cost to you of owning the fund) on the order of < 0.3%. Feel free to post the fund offerings here and we'll be able to give you better advice.

[Hatton]

Fidelity.  Never heard of Voya or Valic.  Fidelity has a good reputation.  Several other frequent commenters who use fidelity hopefully will chime in.

[djohnflatfeecfp]

hatton1 wrote:

Fidelity.  Never heard of Voya or Valic.  Fidelity has a good reputation.  Several other frequent commenters who use fidelity hopefully will chime in.

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Voya and Valic are insurance companies.  My wife has Voya at her university position and the investment choices are almost all well over 1%.

[bean1970]

Call the representative you were given for each one. Note their responsiveness. Go to the website of each one. Can you navigate easily? Call their customer service number. How fast can you get help? These are all other considerations in addition to their fees and investment options when picking where you want to park your money.  I have pots of money at 3 of those 4.

[owenp21]

Unless I'm misunderstanding, TIAA-CREF has equity index funds with expense ratios as low as .23%-.4%. Unfortunately Fidelity's investment page is down at the moment. Voya and Valic look like they have higher fees.

 

 

[Peds]

fidelity or tiaa cref.

but that is based off of what i know they offer.

i doubt voya or valic have plans that are near as cheap.

[Antares]

I use Fidelity and am very happy with them. I also have accounts at TIAA-CREF, and they’ve been good too. I think the Fidelity options and resources and tools are better. I’ve generally found customer service to be excellent with both.

[billy]

wife has voya at work, but its her only option for 401k.  Every plan is different but her cheapest index funds (total stock market) are 0.8% expense ratio.  almost all other funds are over 1%. Not sure if thats true of all voya plans or just hers.

[Matas]

Our hospital retirement plan changed from Valic to Fidelity several years ago - now less expensive and more investment choices. I also have my rollover IRA and taxable accounts at Fidelity - all are listed on the same account statement online. Not a big deal, but convenient. Also, Fidelity has a physical office close to work which is convenient for getting paperwork done in person, and having questions answered live and in-person. I've never had to wait when walking in without an appointment.

[startupdoc]

Fidelity.

[adventure]

We have accounts at both Fidelity and TIAA. Ours choices are better (lower ER's) at Fidelity. Also, Fidelity has a great overall platform. Easy to add other accounts (roll over, taxable, etc), easy to do research too. Also, I can't stand TIAA's platform or UI - it's horrible.

[Bmac]

startupdoc wrote:

Fidelity.

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+1

[DMFA]

Fido all the way imo.

[adventure]

DMFA wrote:

Fido all the way imo.

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Enlighten me!