Best Brokers for Retirement Plans in 2023 (2024)

Best Brokers for Retirement Plans in 2023

Best Brokers for Retirement Plans in 2023

Fidelity wins our best overall retirement plan for brokerage companies thanks to a strong selection of IRA options, low costs, and variety of investment choices. You’ll find that no matter your income and financial background, Fidelity offers an IRA that aligns to your situation.

While the most commonplace IRAs like Traditional and Roth are available, small business owners can take advantage of accounts that have additional tax benefits such as a SIMPLE IRA, SEP IRA, or solo-401(k) plan. Costs are kept low due to no annual IRA fees, no account minimums, and low or fee-free mutual fund expense ratios.

You’ll also have access to a wide range of investment and planning tools that help keep your retirement journey on track if you decide to manage the account yourself. Additionally, Fidelity’s robo-advisor service, Fidelity Go, is available for free with under $10,000 deposited and an extra fee once more than $10,000 is invested. More extensive planning and human advice is offered through the Personalized Planning & Advice tier for a 0.50% annual management fee.

Be aware that Schwab does require a minimum balance of $25,000 and charges a one-time planning fee of $300 and a monthly advisory fee of $30 to combine personalized investment guidance with robo-advisory investing, through its Intelligent Portfolios Premium offering, for example.

Charles Schwab is among the largest players in the investment space and winner of our best for self-employed category. There is a wide variety of retirement account options to choose from to go along with the plethora of investment options. Schwab’s acquisition of broker TD Ameritrade in 2020 has further bolstered its offering and position as a leader in the industry.

Schwab stands out to self-employed individuals in particular due to the number of appealing retirement plan accounts, including individual 401(k) plans, SEP IRAs, SIMPLE IRAs, and Personal Defined Benefit Plans. These plans have no requirements for minimum balances, so you can start saving regardless of your financial situation. You’ll also find that Schwab has portfolio management solutions for investors of all backgrounds.

Self-directed users can enjoy no commission trades for stocks and ETFs paired with extensive research capabilities to help with investment decisions. Retirement savers who prefer a robo-advisor solution can use the Intelligent Portfolios with a $5,000 minimum and no advisory fee or the Premium version with $25,000 minimum and a one-time setup fee of $300 and $30 a month thereafter for unlimited, ongoing guidance. If you are looking at larger investment minimums, you can get additional hands-on service by visiting a branch in-person.

Vanguard is one of the largest and most recognized investment companies around. Vanguard is known for its focus on low fees and passive investing through index funds. This powerful combo can help retirement savers reach their long-term goals while spending less time worrying about their portfolio and less money in investment fees. As a result, Vanguard is our choice for the best low cost broker for retirement plans.

With Vanguard, you’ll have access to an extensive catalog of low-cost or no-cost index mutual funds and ETFs with some limited active funds available as well. Since the platform is geared towards a long-term, passive investment philosophy, there aren’t a lot of features that cater to active traders. However, building a diversified portfolio of index funds with Vanguard is easy to do on your own.

You’ll need at least $1,000 to open a self-directed Vanguard retirement account. The Digital Advisor platform features light robo-advisor guidance for a minimum investment of $3,000 and an annual fee between 0.15% to 0.20%. A human financial planner is included through the Personal Advisor Service for a $50,000 minimum deposit and a 0.30% annual fee. Regardless of which platform you choose, you’ll keep more money in your pocket and invested towards retirement.

Betterment was one of the first robo-advisors to hit the market offering automated portfolio solutions and digital advice. With access to human advisors, cash management options, and crypto investing, Betterment gives you a complete platform to manage your retirement money and wins our best robo-advisor for retirement plans category.

Betterment helps you automate your investment strategy by assessing your goals, risk tolerance, and financial situation so that a portfolio can be assigned that best aligns to your situation. You can also leverage comprehensive retirement planning tools on your dashboard to ensure you’re on track and make adjustments if needed.

Betterment’s digital offering charges 0.25% of assets under management on an annual basis. Additional financial planning session packages with a human advisor are also available for purchase separately. You can access Betterment’s Premium tier once you have $100,000 invested, and then a Certified Financial Planner is included with the slightly higher 0.40% annual fee.

Article Sources

1. Fidelity. "Learn About IRAs."

2. Fidelity. "Traditional IRA: What We Offer."

3. Charles Schwab. “Schwab Intelligent Portfolios Premium.”

4. Charles Schwab. "About Schwab: TDA."

5. Charles Schwab. "Small Business Retirement Plans."

6. Charles Schwab. "Discover Which Robo-Advice Solution is Right for You."

7. Vanguard. "Roth vs Traditional IRA."

8. Vanguard. "Digital Advisor."

9. Vanguard. "Financial Advisor."

10. Betterment. "Pricing at Betterment."