Big 401(k) Benefits, Small Price

At ShareBuilder 401k, our goal is to simplify 401(k) plans to help your company save money and your employees save more for retirement.

ShareBuilder 401(k) Plans are 45% to 68%* Lower than the Average 401(k) Plan

Costs matter a lot in 401(k) plans. Why? Each dollar paid in expenses is one less dollar invested in the markets. Even a 1% difference in expenses can mean the difference of hundreds of thousands of dollars in each employee’s retirement account over their career.

In plans with greater than $5M in assets, most costs are paid by your participants in the form of investment expenses. These typically include fund expenses (or fund expense ratio) , recordkeeping, administration, investment management, custody, and potentially others. Some of these expenses may not be obvious and may or may not be wrapped all together in the expenses (i.e. fund expense ratios) of your plan.

We focus on taking the cost out of 401(k) plans in three main ways, all while providing great service.

Don’t Let High Fees Eat Away at Your Employees' Savings

While you can't control the markets, you can control investments costs. Every dollar paid in investment expenses is one less dollar invested in the markets. Paying just 1% more in fund and investment expenses can cost each employee hundreds of thousands in savings over a 40-year career.

The effects of higher costs can compound and become profound over time. In this hypothetical example, Jill and Dan invested the same exact amount over 40 years, but because Jill paid 1% less in fees, she saved an extra $376,321, which is 27% more than Dan.

Paying 1% Less Can Make a Big Difference!

Paying 1% Less Can make a Big Difference!

This example shows the effect that expenses can have on your 401(k) retirement account over a career of 40 years by comparing the costs of paying 1% versus 2% on investments and how savings may accumulate. It assumes the investments have a fixed annual 7% return before expenses with no distribution or tax considerations and does not imply future returns. The example assumes 3each employee has a salary of $75,000 in year one and receives a 3% merit raise each year on-going. In addition, the employee contributes 5% of her salary each year and receives a 3% of salary company matching contribution.

Simple, Transparent Approach to Pricing

Since our launch in 2005, our focus on delivering exceptional service and low pricing has remained constant. In all but very unique situations, there are two ongoing expenses your company’s participants will incur with ShareBuilder 401k: the fund (or fund expense ratios) and our investment management expense that encompasses most if not all of the recordkeeping services to run your plan. For added needs, the ShareBuilder 401k includes Custom Services as part of our bundled solution to manage one-time, transactional or unique needs be it loans, plan amendments, and are priced per transaction.

Our Investment Management service expense is applied to each person who has a balance in your company’s ShareBuilder 401k plan. This pricing will cover ERISA 3(38) investment management services, plan consultation, employee education, recordkeeping, administration and custodial services. For plans with less than $5M in assets there may be a one-time setup and ongoing quarterly administration charge. As an ERISA 3(38) investment advisor, we become a fiduciary to your plan and are legally required to act in the best interest of your plan and your participants. It’s another way we deliver exceptional value.

Automatic Pricing Discounts

The more your company has in total plan assets, the more you save with ShareBuilder 401k. Once your plan exceeds a pricing tier, the savings on your investment management expense automatically kicks in. This program has helped clients continually lower costs and eliminate the hassle and pain of regularly negotiating expense.


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We Can Help You Compare Plans

If you want some guidance in determining whether your plan makes the most financial sense for you and your employees, we can help by reviewing your costs and even forecasting the impact.

  • * ShareBuilder 401k plan expenses range from 45% to 68% less than the industry average at various data points from a $50K plan with 6 participants to a $100M plan with 2,000 participants based on 401k Averages Book 2023 Data and Custom Benchmarking report prepared for ShareBuilder Advisors. Cost comparisons are based on plan assets and number of participants and reflect core on‐going 401(k) plan expenses that a company and/or its employees can expect to incur as a percentage of assets with most any 401(k) plan. This includes administration, recordkeeping, tax filing prep documents, plan testing, fund expense ratios, and other investment costs passed on to every participant to service the plan. It does not include unique employee-initiated transactions such as loans, distributions or employer transactions such as plan amendments. ShareBuilder 401k pricing is based off standard pricing rates for our typical Safe Harbor 401(k) plan design. This claim is not applicable to Solo 401(k) plans.
  • You should carefully consider information contained in the fund's prospectus, including investment objectives, risks, charges and expenses. For a prospectus containing this and other important information, please visit the fund's detailed quote page in the Our Investments section of the website or give us a call at 800-943-6108. Please read the prospectus carefully before investing.