How the Biggest 401(k) Funds Stack Up

Our guide will help you choose well in your workplace retirement plan.

- BY NELLIE S. HUANG

AMERICANS have the power to decide how much to save and how to invest in their 401(k) plan. But too often, they start late, save too little and invest poorly. We can't help you save, but we can point you toward good investments.

Every year, we analyze the most popular actively managed funds—measured by assets—in employer-based retirement savings plans, according to financial data firm BrightScope, and we make recommendations to “buy,” “sell” or “hold.” We exclude index funds from our analysis because they tend to do their job, and the decision to invest in one rests largely on what kind of market exposure you seek—large companies or small, say, or foreign stocks. But we do rate 75 of the largest funds—index and active—in the table on page 39.

Read on for our take on the 10 most popular active 401(k) funds, summarized below in order of assets in defined-contribution plans. All returns are through October 31, 2025.

Vanguard Target Retirement:

BUY

Target-date funds are built for investors who want an expert to handle their retirement investing. Vanguard Target Retirement funds charge a low expense ratio, 0.08% per fund, and use a simple approach. The portfolios hold just four index funds, covering total U.S. and total foreign stock and bond markets. Five years before retirement, a short-term inflation-protected bond fund is added as an inflation hedge.