[USER]

Quick question in choosing 401k allocations. Are there different fees for the different investment options? If I choose fidelity 500 index fund, are the fees different from State Street retirement 2050 fund?

[Cody]

Yes.

The expense ratios should be included on your fund lineup when you’re logged into your 401(k) dashboard. The State Street Retirement 2050 fund will likely be a little more expensive than the Fidelity 500 fund – but they are invested very differently (not apples to apples).

[Christopher]

Each fund has its own expense ration. An S&P500 fund’s fee will typically be notably lower than a target date fund.

Your plan documents should include the various expenses associated with each fund, though it may not be obvious where.

[Michael]

Yes- the fees will be in the prospectus document available from your 401k provider, if not on your dashboard.

[Matt]

Your 401k investment option “fund sheets” should break all of this down for you – past performance over different time horizons, cost/expense ratio, etc.

In general, the S&P500 and Total Stock Market Index funds, being passive, have the lowest costs (and highest performance) and the more actively managed target date funds will have more cost (and lower performance).

Also, check out: Roth 401k vs. Roth IRA: Which should I prioritize?

[Author]

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