Retirement Plan Adviser Preferences The Vanguard Group, Inc. # of retirement plan adviser interactions 194 Interactions vs. Adviser Recommendations Top 10 Criteria Used in Selecting Core Fund Lineups 1 Performance vs. benchmarks 79% 2 Total performance (5-yr return) 47% 3 Fee structure for plan 73% Multiple interactions 66% Recommend rate Overall Service Quartiles, by Plan Assets <$5mm $5mm - $50 mm >$50mm - $200mm Highest Rated Areas of Service Value for price Fee clarity and disclosure Fee structure for advisers Regulatory and compliance support Quality of client service teams 42% 4 Alpha, beta and std deviations 41% 5 Upside/Downside capture ratio 38% 6 Management philosophy 7 Third-party scoring of funds 8 Manager tenure 9 Sharpe ratio 10 Total performance (10-yr return) 22% 12% 10% 5% 4% 3% Top 10 Standalone Funds 1 Fidelity® 500 Index Fund 2 Vanguard 500 Index Fund Voya Financial # of retirement plan adviser interactions 215 Interactions vs. Adviser Recommendations 3 T. Rowe Price Blue Chip Growth Fund 4 American Funds Euro Pacific Growth 5 PGIM Total Return Bond Fund 6 MFS® 7 American Balanced Fund 7 Western Asset Core Plus Bond Fund 9 JPMorgan Large Cap Growth Fund 9 PIMCO Income Fund 71% Multiple interactions 66% Recommend rate Overall Service Quartiles, by Plan Assets <$5mm $5mm - $50 mm >$50mm Highest Rated Areas of Service Value for price Adviser sales and marketing support Enrollment materials and support Statements Fee structure for advisers Top 10 Fund Families 1 Capital Group (American Funds) 65% 2 The Vanguard Group, Inc. 3 Fidelity Investments 4 T. Rowe Price 60% 54% 50% 5 J.P. Morgan Asset Management 37% 6 BlackRock 34% 23% 16% 13% 13% 12% 7 MFS Investment Management 32% 8 PIMCO 9 American Century 22% 14% 10 Franklin Templeton / Legg Mason 12% Top 5 TDF Families 1 American Funds TDF Series 2 Vanguard Retirement Funds 62% 58% 3 T. Rowe Price Retirement Funds 42% 4 Fidelity Freedom Funds 5 BlackRock LifePath® Funds 28% 22% Tables for Top Standalone Funds and Top Fund and Target-Date Fund Families summarize rankings from advisers personally involved in evaluating and recommending investment options. Top 5 votes = Percentage of advisers selecting the fund or family as one of their five favorite managers. Top choice votes = Percentage selecting the fund or family as their favorite. Top 10 Criteria Used in Selecting Plan Recordkeeper 1 Value for price 2 Quality of sponsor support 3 Fee structure for plan 36% 34% 28% 24% 4 Knowledge of service teams 5 Website tools for participants 6 Flexibility and customization 7 Investment options available 53% 39% 38% 28% 27% 26% 19% 8 Quality of participant education 15% 9 Cybersecurity policies 9 Payroll integration options 11% 11% % TOP CHOICE 21% International Diversification Fund 13% 7% 3% 3% 2% 2% 2% 2% 2% % TOP 5 36% 23% 22% 14% 13% 11% 10% 10% 9% 9% planadviser.com September-October 2020 | 23http://www.planadviser.com