New Vanguard Target Retirement Fund share class coming in mid-August
Beginning in mid-August, the share class of the Vanguard Target Date Funds investment options offered through the Vanderbilt retirement plan will convert to institutional class. This is a new share class of the current default option, the Vanguard Target Retirement Funds. The new share class has a lower expense ratio, meaning fewer of your invested dollars will go toward the fund’s management fee. (To learn more about shares and share classes, scroll to the bottom of this article.)
The update should result in a roughly 40 percent reduction in fund management fees, saving Vanderbilt employees invested in these funds approximately $680,000 annually. The conversion will happen automatically, and you do not need to take any action. The funds will have new ticker symbols, but your account information will not change. Stay tuned for more information from Fidelity.
Online, on-demand workshops and resources available to help you save effectively
Whether you’re new to retirement plans or have been participating in them for a while, Fidelity has a wide variety of online tools and resources as well as on-demand workshops available to help you plan and manage your account.
To build a solid financial foundation, a good first step is to start with the basics. From budgeting and debt management to reducing health care costs and understanding Social Security, Fidelity can help to break it all down and provide next steps to help you get—and stay—on track. Visit Fidelity’s Back to Basics page to get started.
Want to learn more? Fidelity offers self-directed workshops so that you can learn anytime and proceed at your own pace. These are Web-based, so you can access them from any computer with an Internet connection. The workshops cover a variety of subjects to help you plan your financial future. Topics include:
- The benefits of saving at work and how to create an investment strategy
- Strategies to help you balance saving, spending and debt
- Planning for multiple goals, including a college education
- How to manage your workplace savings through market ups and downs
- Building a retirement income plan and strategies to help generate lifetime income
- Making the most of Social Security and Medicare in retirement
- The role of annuities in your retirement planning
- How to establish and maintain an estate plan
- What every woman needs to know about investing
- Deciding what to do with workplace savings from former employers
Fidelity also is offering 50 percent off the target net advisory fee for 180 days to Vanderbilt employees who sign up for Portfolio Advisory Services at Work by Oct. 15. Visit www.fidelity.com/activelymanaged to learn more.
For more information, visit the HR retirement page or NetBenefits, or call the Fidelity Retirement Service Center at 1-800-343-0860 from 7:30 a.m. to 11 p.m. CST Monday through Friday, except holidays. To change your Fidelity communications settings, log into NetBenefits and go to your profile.
What are shares and share classes?
Share: A part of a company or mutual fund that you can own. The number of shares you own determines how much profit you will earn.
Share class: The category of mutual fund share that defines who can purchase the share, including:
- Retail or investor share class. This traditional share class is available to all investors. It may have a higher expense ratio than institutional share classes.
- Institutional share class. This share class is only available to large retirement plans (e.g. the Vanderbilt Retirement Plan). Institutional shares offer lower expense ratios and are typically only available through retirement plans.
While shareholders in different share classes incur different costs, the fund’s objective and management and the stocks, bonds and reserves it invests in are identical in each class.