[linda_loo]

Please go easy on me... I want to start a 403b, but I am overwhelmed by all the choices. I have read all the relevant info here, and attempted to get information on many of the companies that I can use... but it seems really hard to narrow things down.

My district uses www.omni403b.com. Here are the firms that I may work with:

AIG Valic
American Fund/Capital Guardian
Ameriprise Financial Services, Inc.
AXA Equitable Life Insurance Company
Commonwealth Annuity & Life Ins Co
Fidelity Management Trust
GALIC Disbursing Co.
ING Life Insurance and Annuity Co.
Lincoln Investment Planning
Lincoln National
Metropolitan Life Insurance Co
Oppenheimer Shareholder Svcs.
Pacific Life Insurance Company
Phoenix Home Life Ins. Co.
PlanMember Services Corporation
Putnam Investments
Waddell & Reed Inc.

Any suggestions about companies that you would avoid? Ones you would recommend?

Any websites where you can find ratings that make sense (403 for Dummies, here!)? TIA!

[apteacher]

Linda,

Welcome to the site. Your employer offers what many of us around here call "the usual list of suspects." The list seems to consist of high-fee providers that many here try to avoid. We tend to like the low-cost providers such as Vanguard, Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and TIAA-CREF.

You can start your educational process by reading the material on this site, and then by reading any number of books by authors like Bogle, Ferri, Swedroe, and Bernstein. However, a real good start is The Coffeehouse Investor. It is very accessible, and you can read it in one evening.

Don't put the cart before the horse. Educate yourself first, and THEN go about the business of choosing funds.

[elgordo42]

http://www.omni403b.com/signed_isa_funds.asp has a list of companies that they have signed agreements with.
It includes Fidelity, T. Rowe Price and Vanguard, apparently for some districts, but not all.

You may want to ask someone at your district office or an Omni rep, how to get some other choices added to your district's list.

EDIT: And I see that 403b ASP FundSource is also available to some districts.
This is a pretty reasonably priced side door into the low cost funds.

[linda_loo]

Thanks for all of the replies! I checked out The Coffeehouse Investor on amazon.com and it seems as though the older one is not available, and that there is a new one coming out soon (4/16/09). Funny, the other names you mentioned were the next ones that came up in the search window, including The Four Pillars of Investing & The Bogleheads' Guide to Investing.

apteacher & elgordo42, is "Fidelity Management Trust" the same as Fidelity? I have read about Fidelity, T. Rowe Price, and TIAA-CREF before and my dh invests with Vanguard; I knew they were all good choices. I have not heard of 403B ASP... will read about them ASAP.

Again, thank you.

[apteacher]

apteacher & elgordo42, is "Fidelity Management Trust" the same as Fidelity?

http://institutional.fidelity.com/

[elgordo42]

apteacher & elgordo42, is "Fidelity Management Trust" the same as Fidelity?

http://institutional.fidelity.com/

It is hard to tell what they offer to your particular district, from this homepage, at least. You can probably get more specific information, as a district employee. Not sure to whom you would direct an inquiry, probably start with your district business office or its website or your TPA's website.

If they are offering only Fidelity Advisor funds, they are more expensive and include a 12b-1 fee. If they have direct access to Fidelity funds, that is considered a much better deal, from most of us on this discussion board, at least.

Good luck,
Gordon