5 good tools for 401(k) investors

By the end of this month, you should have received your annual 401(k) fee statement, outlining how much you’re paying in expenses on all the investments in that retirement portfolio. The mandatory disclosures shows how much you paid in fees for every $1,000 invested. Those disclosures may want to make you think about swapping out some funds.

Since 2012, participants in 401(k)s have been able to see more clearly how much they are paying for the management and administration of their plans and funds. Quarterly statements detail those fees and expenses.

As a general rule of thumb, you shouldn’t pay more than 1 percent of assets in fees for any one holding in a 401(k), especially if you work for a very large company with the muscle to negotiate provider fees. And index funds should be far less expensive, no more than 0.01 percent of assets for a fund that follows a broad-based index like the S&P 500. If your disclosure shows otherwise, it might be time to push for an overhaul of the fund lineup or even a change in providers. Or, think about investing outside of your 401(k), where you may have better choices. Here are five tools that can help you decide and choose:

• BrightScope uses IRS information to rate 401(k) plans on factors including total cost and generosity of the company match. It shows how your plan stacks up against plans from similar employers and against all 401(k) plans. (It’s free, but for a more detailed report, you’ll have to pay $100 and get access permission from your plan’s fiduciary; contact BrightScope for details.)

• Morningstar has information on thousands of funds. Type in the ticker symbol of the fund you’d like to replace in the search box. Morningstar will identify what kind of fund it is, such as small-cap value or large-cap blend, and compare the fund’s performance to a benchmark. You can then plug in the names of other funds in your plan to find comparable options. (Registration is free. Morningstar Premium, a pay service, which has more comparison tools, is free for a 14-day trial; subscriptions start at $189 per year or $23 per month.)

Consumer Reports helps you make investment products such as mutual funds, ETFs, and annuities work together for you.

• Morningstar’s Instant X-Ray can give you more detail on your portfolio, including asset allocations, variety of different investment styles, geographic regions covered by the investments, and sectors. (The same subscription terms apply for using the tool.)

• Fund Analyzer, free and sponsored by Financial Industry Regulatory Au­thor­i­ty (FINRA), shows the lowest-cost option among three funds of your choosing. To get your results, you’ll need to input the funds’ ticker symbols and estimated returns, and your expected investment period.

• Personal Capital requires you to register and provide a cell phone number to use some of this site’s free tools. By typing in some basic information, you can get a free projection of what you’ll have in retirement, as well as what you’ll need. You also will get a target asset allocation. If you then want to compare that with your current allocation, you’ll need to provide the log-in and password for your 401(k). Personal Capital draws the information from your account in order to make its projections and recommendations. If all that makes you uncomfortable, check with your own 401(k); those administered by major providers like Vanguard, Fidelity and T. Rowe Price often offer similar tools for plan participants.

Culled from consumer report