Vanguard

Vanguard is based in Malvern, Pennsylvania, and is owned by its US funds, which is a different structure from BlackRock or Fidelity. The product is broad index funds and target-date funds at very low fees, plus a brokerage account.

Retirement-plan sponsors and their consultants choose the default fund a participant lands in. When that default is a Vanguard target-date series, payroll contributions buy Vanguard for years unless the participant opts out, and BlackRock and Fidelity target-date series are the usual alternatives on the menu.

Index licensing and tracking are shared facts with BlackRock's iShares and with State Street. Vanguard's brokerage and cash options are a smaller contest with Schwab and Fidelity for investors who want a single firm for funds and trading.

Target-date defaults in retirement plans gather assets without a participant making a fund-by-fund choice.

Index-fund fees are the variable sponsors compare with BlackRock and Fidelity.

The client-owned structure keeps the firm private and focused on fund expenses.

A worker defaulted into a Vanguard target-date fund depends on that series' glide path and fee.

Plan sponsors who pick the default are choosing the manager for people who never log in.