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Target Date Funds: Does the Glide Path Matter?

February 6, 2014 by 4 Comments
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Most Target Date Funds are funds of the mutual funds of the fund family offering the TDF.  The pitch is to invest in the fund with a target date closest to your projected retirement date and “… we’ll do the rest….”  A key element of Target Date Funds is their Glide Path into retirement.  Stated another way the Glide Path is the gradual decline in the allocation to equities into and during retirement.  Should the fund’s Glide Path matter to you as an investor?

Glide PathTarget Date Funds have become a big part of the 401(k) landscape with many plans offering TDFs as an option for participants who don’t want to make their own investment choices.  Target Date Funds have also grown in popularity since the Pension Protection Act of 2006 included TDFs as a safe harbor option for plan sponsors to use for participants who do not make an investment election for their salary deferrals and/or any company match.

These funds are big business for the likes of Vanguard, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price who control somewhere around 70% of the assets in these funds.  Major fund families such as Blackrock, JP Morgan Funds, and the American Funds also offer a full menu of these funds.  Ideally for the fund company you will leave you money in a TDF with them when you retire or leave your employer, either in the plan or via a rollover to an IRA.

What is a Glide Path?

The allocation of the fund to equities will gradually decrease over time.  For example Vanguard’s 2060 Target Date Fund had an equity allocation of almost 88% at the end of 2013.  By contrast the 2015 fund had an equity allocation of approximately 52%.

This gradual decrease continues through retirement for many TDF families including the “Big 3” until the equity allocation levels out conceivably until the shareholder’s death.  T. Rowe Price has traditionally had one of the longest Glide Paths with equities not leveling out until the investor is past 80.  The Fidelity and Vanguard funds level out earlier, though past age 65.

There are some TDF families where the glide path levels out at retirement and there is some debate in the industry whether “To” or “Through” retirement is the better strategy for a fund’s Glide Path.

Should you care about the Glide Path? 

The fund families offering Target Date Funds put a lot of research into their Glide Paths and make it a selling point for the funds.  The slope of the Glide Path influences the asset allocation throughout the target date years of an investor’s retirement accumulation years.  The real issue is whether the post-retirement Glide Path is right for you as an investor.

On the one hand if you might be inclined to use your Target Date Fund as an investment vehicle into retirement, as the mutual fund companies hope, then this is a critical issue for you.

On the other hand if you would be inclined to roll your 401(k) account over to either an IRA or a new employer’s retirement plan upon leaving your company then the Glide Path really doesn’t make a whole lot of difference to you as an investor in my opinion.

In either case investing in a Target Date Fund whether you are a 401(k) participant saving for retirement or a retiree is the ultimate “one size fits all” investment.  In the case of the Glide Path this is completely true.  If you feel that the Glide Path of a given Target Date Fund is in synch with your investment needs and risk tolerance into retirement then it might be the way to go for you.

Conversely many people have a number of investment accounts and vehicles as they head into retirement.  Besides their 401(k) there might be a spouse’s 401(k), other retirement accounts including IRAs, taxable investments, annuities, an interest in a business, real estate, and others.

In short, Target Date Funds are a growing part of the 401(k) landscape and I’m guessing a profitable way for mutual fund companies to gather assets.  They also represent a potentially sound alternative for investors looking for a professionally managed investment vehicle.  The Glide Path is a key element in the efforts to keep these investors in the Target Date Fund potentially for life.  Before going this route make sure you understand how the TDF invests, the length and slope of the Glide Path, the fund’s underlying expenses, and overall how the fund’s investments fit with everything else you may doing to plan for and manage a comfortable retirement.

Approaching retirement and want another opinion on where you stand? Not sure if your investments are right for your situation? Need help getting on track? Check out my Financial Review/Second Opinion for Individuals service for detailed guidance and advice about your situation.

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Target Date Funds: 6 Considerations Before Investing

April 24, 2013 by 6 Comments
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Target Date Funds are a staple of many 401(k) plans. Most Target Date Funds are funds of mutual funds. The three largest firms in the TDF space are Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and Vanguard with a combined market share of about 80 percent. All three firms use only their own funds as the underlying investments in their target-date fund offerings. Some other firms offer other formats, such as funds of exchange-traded funds, but the fund of mutual funds is still the most common structure.

Target Date Funds Investing

Here are 6 considerations to think about when deciding whether to use the Target Date Fund option in your company’s retirement savings plan:

Is the Glide Path really that important?

Much has been made of whether the Glide Path (a leveling of the fund’s equity allocation into retirement) should take investors to or through retirement. Target Date Fund providers spend a lot of time devising and administering the Glide Path that their funds use into and through your retirement years.   Before making too much of this, however, the key question is what will you do with your retirement plan dollars once you retire? TDF providers hope that you take the money invested in their Target Date Funds and roll these dollars into an IRA with them, maintaining your Target Date Fund position.  There are big dollars at stake for them.  In reality you might take your money out of the plan and do something else with it, including consolidating these funds with other retirement assets already in an IRA perhaps at another custodian.

How does the allocation of the Target Date Fund fit with your other investments? 

Many 401(k) participants invest their retirement dollars in a vacuum—meaning they don’t take their investments outside of the plan into consideration when making their investment choices. This is fine for younger workers just starting out.  Their 401(k) investment might be their only investment and the instant diversification of a Target Date Fund is fine here.

For those with other outside investments such as taxable accounts, a spouse’s retirement plan, and perhaps an IRA rolled over from old 401(k)s, this is a big mistake. Given that TDFs are funds of funds you might become over or under allocated in one or more areas and not know it as your account grows. Factoring the Target Date Fund allocation into your overall portfolio is critical. 

Is the Target Date Fund closest to your projected retirement date the right choice for you?

For example, a 2020 Target Date Fund is conceivably meant for someone who is 58 and retiring in seven years. If you were to take three 58-year-olds and look at their respective financial situations and tolerance for risk, it is likely that they are all fairly different. Plan providers need to do a better job of communicating to plan participants that the fund with the date closest to their projected retirement date may not be the right fund for their needs. Look at your own unique situation and pick the TDF that best fits your needs. 

Understand the underlying expenses

In some cases, the overall expense ratio may be a weighted average of the underlying funds. Others may also tack on a management fee to cover the costs of managing the fund. As with any investment, understand what you are being charged and what you are getting for your money. 

Target Date Funds don’t equate to low risk

Many participants are under the mistaken impression that investing in a Target Date Fund is a low risk proposition. As we saw in 2008, nothing could be further from the truth. Many investors in 2010 funds saw losses in excess of 20 percent. A recent review of more than 40 Target Date Fund families showed the share of stocks in the funds designed for those retiring in the current year ranged from about 25 percent to about 75 percent. As with any mutual fund, look under the hood and understand the level of risk that you will be assuming.

Investing in Target Date Funds doesn’t guarantee retirement success 

Contrary to the belief of some, investing in a Target Date Fund doesn’t guarantee that you will have enough saved at retirement.  Building a sufficient retirement nest egg is all about how much you save and how you invest those savings.  Target Date Funds may or may not be the best investment vehicle for your needs.

Target Date Funds can be a good vehicle for 401(k) participants and others who are not comfortable allocating their own investments. Unfortunately, TDFs are not a set it and forget it proposition. Investing in Target Date Funds requires periodic review to ensure that the fund you have chosen is still right for your situation. Retirement plan providers and sponsors also need to do a better job of communicating the benefits, pitfalls, and potential uses of these funds to plan participants.

Please feel free to contact me with questions about 401(k) investment options or about your overall financial and retirement planning needs.  

For you do-it-yourselfers, check out Morningstar.com to analyze your Target Date Fund and all 401(k) investment options and to get a free trial for their premium services.  Please check out our Resources page for links to some additional tools and services that might be beneficial to you.  

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T. Rowe Price Target Date Funds – A Look Under The Hood

February 20, 2013 by 4 Comments
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This is another in a series of posts on Target Date Funds that I’ve written for this blog.  As both a financial planner for individual clients and an advisor to several 401(k) plans I have mixed feelings about them.  TDFs offer investors a professionally managed all-in-one investment solution.  Ideally you invest in the fund with a target date closest to your anticipated retirement date and the fund does the rest.

Personally I like TDFs more for younger investors versus those who are within say 15 years or so of retirement.  Target Date Funds have become a staple in 401(k) plans due to the safe harbor given to plan sponsors who use them as the default investment choice for those plan participants who do not make an election of their own.

Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and Vanguard control about 80% of the assets in Target Date Funds.

Recently mutual fund ranking service Morningstar revamped its ranking methodology for Target Date Fund families.  They moved to the Gold, Silver, and Bronze rankings they implemented for mutual funds in 2012.  For the period ending December 31, 2012, only T. Rowe Price and Vanguard received the top Gold ranking.  Fidelity was ranked as Neutral.

Let’s take a look under the hood at the T. Rowe Price Target Date Funds.  T. Rowe offers funds with target dates beginning in 2005 and going out to 2055 in five year increments.  Additionally they offer an Income version of the fund for those already in retirement.

Active Management

T. Rowe uses mutual funds from its line-up of funds that are available to the public.  The underlying funds are almost exclusively actively managed in contrast to Vanguard’s use of its passive index funds.  The overall expense ratio of the funds is a weighted rollup of the underlying funds and currently ranges from 0.57% for the Retirement Income fund to 0.78% for the most aggressive fund, the Target 2055.  This is more expensive than Vanguard but all of the T. Rowe funds rank in the top quartile (less expensive) of their respective Morningstar categories. 

Solid Underlying Funds

Each of the 12 T. Rowe Price Target Date Funds received a ranking in the top quartile (the top 25%) of their respective Target Date categories, with 6 of the funds earning the top ranking or “0” from FI360 an outside service that ranks mutual funds and ETFs based upon 11 criteria.

Further, of the 19 underlying funds used across this target date series 17 had enough history to receive a 5 year Lipper ranking and 12 of those funds ranked in Lipper’s top quartile for the 5 years ended December 31, 2012.  This is a higher percentage than either Fidelity or Vanguard. 

Glide Path and Asset Classes

T. Rowe Price uses 12 asset classes in its TDFs; Vanguard uses 7; Fidelity uses 11.  This is not good or bad, but does reflect the broader approach employed by T. Rowe Price.  Note since the end of the year, Vanguard has added some funds in the fixed income area as well as some other tweaks.

T. Rowe Price’s Glide Path levels off at age 95 making it among the most aggressive of the target date fund families available.  By contrast Vanguard’s Glide Path levels off at age 72; Fidelity’s at age 80.  The Glide Path is the leveling off of the equity allocation of the fund as the investor moves into retirement and assumes that the investor will hold the fund until death; this may or may not be the case in reality.

Are Target Date Funds the Right Answer? 

As mentioned above, I have mixed feelings.  On the one hand TDFs are often a better solution than simply letting one’s retirement plan assets languish in a money market account.  On the other hand I am convinced that investors who are either comfortable doing their own allocation or who utilize an advisor are generally better served by tailoring an allocation from among the menu of investment choices offered in their 401(k) plan.

While I tend to favor Vanguard’s low cost passive approach, T. Rowe Price does an excellent job as well.  They have stuck to their knitting through the years and provide a solid option in the Target Date Fund space.

Check out Morningstar.com to look under the hood of T. Rowe’s Target Date Funds and to compare them against other alternatives that you might be considering.  Get a free trial for their premium services.

Please feel free to contact me with questions regarding your investments and your retirement planning issues.

 

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Vanguard Target Date Funds – A Look Under The Hood

October 17, 2012 by Leave a Comment
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I’ve written several posts on Target Date Funds for this blog.  I have mixed feelings about them.  On the one hand TDFs do

Vanguard

provide investors with a professionally managed all-in-one investment solution.  Ideally you invest in the fund with a target date closest to your anticipated retirement date and the fund does the rest.  The manager typically lightens up on equities over time until the fund reaches its Glide Path into retirement, which is a point where the equity allocation levels off and you “glide” into retirement.

This is great in theory, but the reality is that across various fund families TDFs with the same target date can vary widely in their allocations and as to when the Glide Path starts.  Personally I like TDFs more for younger investors versus those who are within say 15 years or so of retirement.  Target Date Funds have become a staple in 401(k) plans due to the safe harbor given to plan sponsors who use them as the default investment choice for those plan participants who do not make an election of their own.

Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and Vanguard control about 80% of the TDFs assets.  Let’s take a look under the hood at the Vanguard Target Retirement funds.

Vanguard offers funds with target dates beginning in 2010 and going out to 2060 in five year increments.  Additionally they offer an Income version of the fund for those already in retirement.

Low Cost and Simple

Vanguard’s approach is both simple and low cost.  The underlying funds consist mostly of Vanguard’s low cost index funds.  The overall expense ratio of the funds is a weighted rollup of the underlying funds and currently ranges from 0.17% to 0.19%.  This is far less expensive than either Fidelity or T. Rowe Price and each of the Vanguard funds ranks in the top (lowest expense) percentile of their respective peer categories.

Solid Performance

  • Each of the funds from the 2010 through the 2050 fund received a top ranking from Fi 360 a mutual fund and ETF ranking service that I utilize in their most recent rankings through the quarter ended September 30, 2012.
  • The Retirement Income fund received a score of 6 from Fi 360 meaning that it ranked in the top 6% of the 211 funds in its category based upon the 11 ranking criteria used by the service.
  • The 2055 and 2060 funds do not have enough history to receive a ranking.

Glide Path and Asset Classes

Vanguard uses 7 asset classes in its TDFs; Fidelity uses 11; T. Rowe Price uses 12.  This is not good or bad, but does reflect Vanguard’s more basic approach.

Vanguard’s Glide Path levels off at age 72; Fidelity’s at age 80; T. Rowe Price’s at age 95.  The Glide Path assumes that the investor will hold the fund until death; this may or may not be the case in reality.

Are Target Date Funds the Right Answer? 

As mentioned above, I have mixed feelings.  On the one hand TDFs are often a better solution than simply letting one’s retirement plan assets languish in a money market account.  On the other hand I am convinced that investors who are either comfortable doing their own allocation or who utilize an advisor are generally better served by tailoring an allocation from among the menu of investment choices offered in their 401(k) plan.

As far as Target Date Funds go, I generally like the Vanguard version for their basic, easy to understand approach and their low cost.

Check out Morningstar to look under the hood of Vanguard’s Target Date Funds and to compare them against other alternatives that you might be considering.  Get a  free trial for their premium services.

Please feel free to contact me with questions regarding your investments and your retirement planning issue.

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Target Date Funds – A Look under the Hood

August 6, 2012 by 11 Comments
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Asset Allocation on Wikibook

The Pension Protection Act of 2006 made Target Date Funds the default investment option of choice in many 401(k)

plans.  As of March, nearly 25% of all 401(k) participants invest solely in TDFs representing a 6 fold increase in six years according to Vanguard via research for plans they manage.  Vanguard goes on to say that 64% of new plan participants entering a plan for the first time contributed 100% to a single TDF.

When you invest in a Target Date Fund, where is your money going?  Here is a comparison of the TDF series offered by the “Big 3” Vanguard, Fidelity, and T. Rowe Price who control about 80% of the Target Date Fund assets.

Fund Basics

Fidelity

T. Rowe Price

Vanguard
Number of underlying mutual funds

23

19

5
Glide Path end age

80

95

72
Active/passive focus

Active (89%)

Active (85%)

Passive (97%)
Expense ratio-avg.

0.64%

0.70%

0.18%

Information via Lipper and Morningstar

Looking at some of the basics from the chart above:

  • All three families are funds of funds comprised exclusively of their own mutual funds.
    • Fidelity and T. Rowe Price both use a higher number of undying funds as compared to Vanguard.
    • Vanguard’s funds are lower cost due to their focus on passively managed index funds.
  • Vanguard and T. Rowe Price use the same underlying funds that are generally available to investors.  Fidelity has moved in large part to the use of their Series funds, a group of institutionally managed funds designed for use only in their Target Date Funds.
  • Glide path refers to the leveling out of the allocation to equities in the funds as shareholders move into retirement.  All three funds are “through” retirement rather than ‘to” retirement.  In the latter case the glide path would level off around age 65.
  • T. Rowe Price has among the longest glide paths of all TDF families.  As you can see above, Fidelity and Vanguard level off a bit earlier.  A point about the glide path.  The fund companies assume that you will hold the TDFs through retirement and perhaps until death.  You might or might not do this, if you don’t the glide path does not make as much difference.

A look at the asset classes used by each TDF family shows some additional differences

Asset Class Summary

Fidelity

T. Rowe Price

Vanguard
U.S. Large Cap

X

X

X
U. S. Mid Cap

X

X

X
U.S. Small Cap

X

X

X
International Equity

X

X

X
Emerging Markets Equity

X

X

X
U.S. Fixed Income

X

X

X
U.S. TIPs

X

X

X
High Yield Fixed Inc.

X

X
International Fixed Income

X
Emerging Mkts Debt

X

X
REITs

X

X
Commodities

X

X

Source:  Lipper 

As you can see from the chart above, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price have ventured into a number of non-core asset classes.  The allocations to any of these asset classes of course vary based on the allocation of the particular TDF.

Vanguard has chosen to take the approach of building their asset allocation models across the various target dates using a simpler approach with just five funds across seven asset classes.

According to Morningstar both T. Rowe Price and Vanguard are ranked “Top.”  Morningstar uses a five rank system.  Fidelity’s Freedom Funds are ranked as “Average” the middle ranking.  This is as of June 30, 2012.

Target Date Funds are a staple in 401(k) and similar retirement plans.  As mentioned above they are frequently used as the default option for participants who don’t specify an investment choice.

As far as choosing which family of TDFs to use, you generally won’t have a choice in your 401(k).  Understand, however, that TDFs can generally be used outside of retirement plans.  For example all of the “Big 3” actively court rollovers from the retirement plans they manage for participants who are leaving the plan for whatever reason.

Besides the fund of proprietary funds approach used by these three families, there are Target Date Funds out there using ETFs and other vehicles as the underlying investments.

Should you go the Target Date route?  Here are a few factors to consider:

  • Are you comfortable allocating your retirement account from among the other options available in the plan?
  • Are there advice options available to you via your retirement plan?  These might include online options; in-person individualized sessions; or managed account options.
  • Do you work with a financial advisor on your accounts outside of the plan?  If so the advisor might be in a position to provide advice on your 401(k) account.  In any event these assets should be considered by your advisor in the course of the advice they provide to you.

If you decide that the Target Date Fund route is the best route for your situation, here are a few things to consider:

  • Pick the fund that best fits your unique situation; this may or may not be the fund with the target date closest to your anticipated retirement date.
  • Target Date Funds are not a “set it and forget it” option.  There, in my opinion, is no such investing option for your 401(k) or any other account.  You need to monitor your TDF choice and understand how your money is being invested.  Fund companies can change managers, investment philosophies, etc.  You are responsible for your retirement and need to stay on top of it.
  • The use of a TDF does not guarantee retirement savings success.  The biggest determinant here is the amount saved during your working life.  Make sure that you are maximizing the amount you are able to contribute to your plan.
  • TDFs do not lower investment risk; this is a function of how the fund is allocated and the skill of the investment manager.  Just ask holders of many 2010 dated funds back in 2008.
  • You need to understand how the allocation of the TDF you choose will fit with your other investments, whether other funds in the 401(k) or your outside accounts such as IRAs and taxable brokerage accounts.

While I’m not a huge fan of Target Date Funds, they can be a sound alternative for many 401(k) investors.  Make sure you have researched this and all options available via your 401(k) plan to determine if this is truly the best option for you.  Check out morningstar.com to analyze your Target Date Fund choices and all of your 401(k) options, and to get a free trial for their premium services.

If you have a choice of Target Date Fund families remember to look “under the hood” of each because there are differences in approach, the types of underlying investments, and costs.  There are also differences in the allocation and risk of funds from difference families with the same target date.

Please feel free to contact me with any questions you may have about your 401(k) plan or with regard to your overall financial planning needs.

Please check out our Resources page for tools and services that you might find useful. 

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