In his New York Times "Your Money" column this week, columnist Rob Lieber peers under the hood of target date funds. He compares the allocation strategy that Wells Fargo [profile] uses for participants close to retirement -- conservative and bond heavy -- with the one pursued by managers at T. Rowe Price [profile], which allocates more aggressively, and he wonders which is the right approach.

Lieber offers insight from Global Index Advisors' Jim Lauder, who PMs the Wells target date offerings, and T. Rowe target date PM Jerome Clark

Lieber doesn't offer a verdict on the Wells Fargo vs. T. Rowe Price debate, but he notes that both retirement-services providers have a small share of a market dominated by Fidelity [profile] and Vanguard [profile], both of which stand somewhere between Wells and T. Rowe in their appetite for risk.

“No fiduciary,” Mr. Lauder said, “ever lost their job by recommending a Vanguard fund.” 

Edited by: Chris Cumming


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