403 b plans

[JHZR2]

Hello,

My wife has a job at what one would consider a nonprofit, and thus has access to a 403b plan. She is just starting, so she was asked which company she would like to go, so that her account could be set up.

She called me, as she wanted to do it right away (not sure why), and read me off a list of companies. The two that I recognized were Prudential and Vanguard. Ill post a whole list later, but I'd guess that many are insurance companies and "financial planning" companies that offer plans to charge a front-end load.

Im just curious of a few things:

-Does anyone use prudential for a 403b (or 401k)? What do you think of them?

-Ditto for vanguard, which is what I told her to set up an account with, since I like the thought of a wide range of low-cost index funds.

-Who else has a 403b, what company, and what do you think of them?

-If T Rowe Price, Fidelity or similar is offered, should we go for them instead?

Thanks!

 

[tomcat27]

They are all solid companies - I have used 3 of them; and now use two of them. (Fidelity and Vanguard)

 

[doitmyself]

I can't help much at all. I don't know enough to attempt to manage my retirement accounts by myself.

My workplace offers our 403b through TIAA-Cref, Vanguard, OR Fidelity.

I have been satisfied with TIAA-CREF my entire career. I meet 1 or 2 times a year with one of their local benefits advisor and we go through their computer "worksheet" to evaluate any changes in my lifestyle, risk level, etc.. and we re-calculate my investment options accordingly. There is NO charge for this.

Some of my friends use Vanguard or Fidelity, but it is hard to compare results because everyone diversifies different....the ones with the higher stock investments lost the most, recently (Duh).

TIAA-Creff has decent industry ratings, as shown here: http://www.tiaa-cref.org/land/industry_ratings/index.html

My co-worker's private consultant says TIAA-Cref isn't all that hot.....who's to say. Just last week, my accounts are back to the level they were when this current decline started (20 months?).

 

[dkryan]

I'd take advantage of the 403(b) plan and use Vanguard for their vast expertise in the investment world and the range of low-cost index funds that they offer.

 

[froggy81500]

401K and 403B are essentially the same thing except a 401K is offered in a for profit company, whereas the 403B is offered in non-profits. I had a 401K with American Funds for several years, and my wife just a few years ago had her 403B with American funds also. Its the only company I had any experience with as far as retirement investing and seemed very good. They've been around a long tims and I can't say I recall seeing them listed last year with other financial institutions getting bail out money.

If they offered mutual funds with american funds I would say jump on that.

In case anybody wondered why they are called what they are called its because that is the part of the tax code with the IRS that deals with those types of funds, 401k and 403b.

One thing to keep in mind when your wife is enrolling in this, who is the plan administrator? Usually its someone with a brokerage firm that handles signing people up and is typically the employer's contact as far as the retirement accounts. That also makes a difference because if its someone from the broker giving investment advice be careful because they aren't actually with the financial organization that holds the mutual funds.

Another think I will mention about AF is that they are supposed to be very flexible with changing the make up of your investment portfolio. They offer several different mutual funds and you can diversify by splitting up your retirement funds across different mutual funds they offer. You can usually call them up any time and change your make up of funds anytime you want. Always good to know that if you pay attention to their actual mutual funds going up or down.

 

[XS650]

We have had a 403b and 401k with Fidelity. Now that we are retired we have rolled them over to IRAs for more flexibility.

We keep our IRAs with Vanguard, both are solid companies.

Take a careful look at which funds are available in her 403b at the different companies and what their fees are. Those are the main differentiators.

 

[ChiTDI]

Originally Posted By: JHZR2
Hello,

My wife has a job at what one would consider a nonprofit, and thus has access to a 403b plan. She is just starting, so she was asked which company she would like to go, so that her account could be set up.

She called me, as she wanted to do it right away (not sure why), and read me off a list of companies. The two that I recognized were Prudential and Vanguard. Ill post a whole list later, but I'd guess that many are insurance companies and "financial planning" companies that offer plans to charge a front-end load.

Im just curious of a few things:

-Does anyone use prudential for a 403b (or 401k)? What do you think of them?

-Ditto for vanguard, which is what I told her to set up an account with, since I like the thought of a wide range of low-cost index funds.

-Who else has a 403b, what company, and what do you think of them?

-If T Rowe Price, Fidelity or similar is offered, should we go for them instead?

Thanks!



Spent over thirty years contributing to those and now they're paying me. Vanguard sure, index funds and low cost over time can mean high returns, but diversify carefully and use bond indexes too.
It's the time that makes the compounding magic, not the special fund. Diversify - growth/value large/small domestic/international equity/debt. You'll be glad you did. I sure am.

 

[oilyriser]

I prefer the eludium Q36 space modulatOr

 

[JHZR2]

Thanks... The other big names besides vanguard that she could use are Lincoln, prudential, and waddell and reed.