RESEARCH |

2025
PLANADVISER Retirement Plan Adviser Survey

The 2025 Retirement Plan Adviser Survey sheds light on the criteria that advisers prioritize in fund and recordkeeper selection.

Reported by PLANADVISER
Retirement Plan Adviser Preferences
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Retirement Plan Adviser Preferences

Retirement Plan Adviser Preferences

Criteria Most Used in Selecting Core Fund Lineups*
1) Performance vs. benchmarks or peer groups63.6%
2) Pricing and fee structure56.2%
3) Total performance (5-year return)47.9%
4) Third-party scoring of funds39.7%
5) Investment philosophy (i.e., active vs. passive)31.4%
6) Upside or downside capture ratio28.9%
7) Alpha, beta and standard deviations28.1%
8) Total performance (10-year return)24.0%
9) Manager tenure18.2%
10) Share class availability16.5%
10) Plan demographics16.5%
Most Important Criteria Used in Selecting Core Fund Lineups
1) Performance vs. benchmarks or peer groups33.3%
2) Total performance (5-year return)25.8%
3) Pricing and fee structure10.8%
4) Total performance (10-year return)7.5%
5) Plan demographics5.4%
6) Quality of underlying investments or sub-advisers3.2%
6) Alpha, beta and standard deviations3.2%
8) Recommendation from recordkeeper or broker/dealer list2.2%
8) Investment philosophy (i.e., active vs. passive)2.2%
10) Brand or reputation1.1%
10) Sharpe ratio1.1%
10) Share class availability1.1%
10) Adviser support1.1%
10) Supporting materials1.1%
10) Upside or downside capture ratio1.1%
Top Criteria Used in Selecting QDIA†
1) Pricing and fee structure47.9%
2) Glide path construction46.3%
3) Total performance (5-year return)31.4%
4) Plan demographics or participant needs30.6%
5) Investment philosophy (i.e. active vs. passive)24.0%
6) Total performance (10-year return)17.4%
7) Quality of underlying investments or sub-advisers16.5%
8) Performance vs. benchmarks or peer groups15.7%
9) Third-party scoring of funds (i.e. Morningstar or fi360 score, etc.)13.2%
10) Volatility7.4%
Top Criteria Used in Selecting Plan Recordkeeper
1) Value for price65.0%
2) Fee structure for plan (e.g., fee equalization, bps vs. fixed, etc.)46.7%
3) Quality and consistency of sponsor support45.0%
4) Website tools for participants40.0%
5) Quality and knowledge of service team reps.37.5%
6) Payroll integration options33.3%
7) Flexibility of recordkeeping systems and processes32.5%
8) Investment options available28.3%
9) Adviser support (i.e., value-added adviser services)22.5%
10) Quality and effectiveness of participant education20.0%
Most-Recommended Fund Families
1) Fidelity Investments62 votes
2) Vanguard57 votes
3) Capital Group, home of the American Funds55 votes
4) J.P. Morgan Investment Management28 votes
5) PIMCO21 votes
Most-Recommended Target-Date-Fund Families
1) Capital Group, home of the American Funds74 votes
2) Vanguard59 votes
3) T. Rowe Price48 votes
4) Fidelity Investments38 votes
5) BlackRock33 votes
Most-Preferred Asset Managers
1) Capital Group, home of the American Funds79 votes
2) Fidelity Investments73 votes
3) Vanguard72 votes
4) J.P. Morgan Asset Management59 votes
5) BlackRock48 votes
5) T. Rowe Price48 votes
Individual Funds Most Preferred by Plan Advisers
1) Fidelity 500 Index Fund23 votes
2) JPMorgan Large Cap Growth Fund18 votes
3) Vanguard 500 Index Fund15 votes
4) PIMCO Income Fund12 votes
5) Putnam Large Cap Value Fund11 votes
6) American Funds EUPAC Fund9 votes
7) American Funds American Balanced Fund8 votes
7) American Funds The Growth Fund of America8 votes
9) PGIM Total Return Bond Fund6 votes
10) American Funds Washington Mutual Investors Fund4 votes
10) Dodge & Cox Income Fund4 votes
10) American Funds The Bond Fund of America4 votes
10) Fidelity Large Cap Growth Index Fund4 votes
10) Fidelity Mid Cap Index Fund4 votes
10) Vanguard Total Bond 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