Every Washington school district keeps its own approved list of 403(b) providers, and those lists range from three or four options to twenty or more. Staring at that list without any context is genuinely confusing. Here’s a rundown of five providers worth knowing about, why they tend to stand out from typical annuity-based options, what to watch for with each one, and how to think about matching a provider to what actually matters to you.
Fees, investment menus, and company offerings do change over time, so treat the specific numbers here as a starting point for your own research rather than the final word, and always confirm current details directly with the provider.
How This List Was Narrowed Down
Two types of products were deliberately left off this list. The first is fixed and variable annuity products, which make up a large share of what’s typically available in school district 403(b) plans. These often come with long surrender periods that lock your money up for years and can carry higher ongoing costs.
The second is A-share mutual funds sold on a load basis, meaning a sales commission, often around 5%, gets taken off the top the moment you contribute. Both types can eat into your long-term returns in ways that aren’t always obvious upfront, so what’s left is a shorter list of providers built around liquidity and lower costs.
A Quick Comparison
| Provider | Approximate Fund Options | Do-It-Yourself or Advisor | Notable Tradeoff |
|---|---|---|---|
| Aspire | Over 10,000 | Either | Slower customer service response times |
| Fidelity | About 180 | Do-it-yourself | Fidelity funds only |
| Vanguard | About 50 | Do-it-yourself | Vanguard funds only |
| Security Benefit (advisor-built menu) | About 155 | Advisor | Higher fees, extra charges on some fund families |
| Orion Portfolio Solutions | Wide range of fund families | Either | Only one fund family at a time |
Aspire
Aspire tends to stand out for sheer breadth of choice, with a fund menu reported at over 10,000 mutual funds, far more than any other provider on this list. You’re not locked into one fund family either, so you could mix low-cost Vanguard index funds with selections from other providers in the same account. Aspire also lets you choose whether to manage the account yourself or work with an outside financial advisor, since Aspire itself doesn’t employ advisors directly.
The tradeoff tends to be responsiveness. Because Aspire works with such a large number of accounts, customer service response times and application processing can run slower than smaller providers. If you’re comfortable with a bit more patience in exchange for the widest possible investment menu, this is generally worth the wait.
Fidelity
Fidelity is a do-it-yourself platform, meaning you’re responsible for opening and managing the account yourself, including staying current on any 403(b) rule or contribution limit changes. In exchange, you typically get around 180 investment options, roughly three times what Vanguard’s platform tends to offer, often at comparable or lower fees.
Support tends to run through a general customer service line rather than a dedicated advisor, and representatives there generally aren’t licensed to give personalized investment advice. If you want guidance, you’d typically need to be connected with, and often pay separately for, one of their licensed advisors.
Vanguard
Vanguard is widely known for low costs, largely because its lineup leans heavily on index funds designed to match the market rather than beat it. Like Fidelity, this is a do-it-yourself plan, so you’re fully responsible for your own investment choices and staying current on plan rules.
The fund menu tends to run smaller than some competitors, often cited around 50 options, and limited exclusively to Vanguard’s own funds. That’s a real constraint if a different fund family happens to outperform a comparable Vanguard option down the road. Being fully self-directed can also be a double-edged sword during volatile markets, since managing your own account means managing your own emotions when the market drops, which is exactly when people tend to make costly, reactive decisions.
Security Benefit
Security Benefit offers both variable annuity products, generally worth avoiding for the same liquidity reasons as other annuities, and two different mutual fund programs. One is a limited, lower-cost menu with fewer than 30 fund options. The other, built for use with an advisor, offers roughly 155 investment options, including well-known names like Vanguard and American Funds.
Fees on the advisor-built menu tend to run higher than some competitors, and some individual fund families carry additional admin charges layered on top. On the plus side, unlike the do-it-yourself platforms above, you can typically spread your balance across multiple fund families rather than being locked into just one, and the mutual fund side generally skips the surrender charges attached to Security Benefit’s annuity products. In a district where the alternative is exclusively annuity-based options, this can be a meaningfully better choice.
Orion Portfolio Solutions
Orion, formerly known under a different name, offers access to a wide range of well-known investment managers on one platform, with an admin fee reported around 0.45%, on top of the underlying fund expenses and any advisor costs. Orion itself acts as an investment manager rather than a custodian, with your actual funds typically held at a larger firm behind the scenes.
The main limitation is that you generally can only hold one fund family at a time. If you want to switch from one manager to another, you can, but your full balance moves together rather than letting you split your money across multiple fund families in the same account the way Security Benefit or Aspire allow.
Matching a Provider to What You Actually Want
With five reasonable options and no single “best” answer, it helps to work backward from what you personally value most rather than just picking the name you recognize.
- If you want the widest possible investment menu and don’t mind occasionally slower customer service, Aspire’s sheer breadth of fund options is hard to match.
- If you want a fully do-it-yourself account with a strong reputation and don’t need advisor support, Fidelity or Vanguard both fit, with Fidelity offering a noticeably larger fund menu.
- If you want the lowest possible ongoing costs and are comfortable managing your own investments through market ups and downs, Vanguard’s index-heavy approach is built for that.
- If you’d rather work with an advisor and want access to well-known fund families without being limited to just one, Security Benefit’s advisor-built menu or Aspire with an outside advisor both work.
- If your district’s list is short and mostly annuities, Orion or Security Benefit’s mutual fund program can be meaningfully better alternatives even if they’re not the cheapest options on this broader list.
None of these priorities are wrong. The point is knowing which one matters most to you before you compare providers, rather than picking based on which name sounds most familiar.
Check Your District’s List First
None of this matters if a provider isn’t actually approved in your specific school district. Before getting attached to any option on this list, check your district’s official approved provider list first. If a provider you like isn’t currently on it, Washington law generally allows a payroll slot to be added once a small number of employees, often as few as five, request it. Reaching out to your district’s payroll or benefits office is the place to start that process.
Every district’s situation is different, and the right provider for you depends on your comfort managing your own investments, whether you want ongoing advisor support, and what’s actually available where you work. There’s also no rule saying you have to stick with your first choice forever. As covered in more detail elsewhere, you can generally switch 403(b) providers later without triggering a tax bill, so getting started with a reasonable option now doesn’t lock you into that choice permanently.
If you’d like help comparing your district’s specific approved list against your goals, you can schedule a personal meeting here and we’ll go through your options together.
Frequently Asked Questions
Why were annuity providers left off this list?
Fixed and variable annuity 403(b) products often come with long surrender periods that lock up your contributions for years, along with potentially higher ongoing costs. This list focuses on providers offering more liquidity and typically lower costs.
What’s the difference between a do-it-yourself and advisor-based 403(b)?
A do-it-yourself plan, like Vanguard or Fidelity’s typical setup, puts you in charge of opening the account, choosing investments, and staying current on plan rules. An advisor-based plan gives you access to professional guidance, generally at an additional cost.
Can I split my 403(b) balance across multiple fund families?
It depends on the provider. Some, like Aspire and Security Benefit’s mutual fund program, allow this. Others, like Orion, generally limit you to one fund family at a time, requiring a full switch rather than a split.
How do I know if a provider is approved in my district?
Ask your district’s payroll or benefits office for the current approved 403(b) provider list. If a provider you’re interested in isn’t on it, you can typically ask about getting it added, which Washington law generally allows once a handful of employees request it.
Are the fees mentioned here still accurate?
Fee schedules and investment menus can change over time, so treat any specific figures here as a general reference point. Always confirm current fees and offerings directly with the provider before making a decision.
Is a cheaper provider always the better choice?
Not necessarily. A lower-fee, do-it-yourself provider can be a great fit if you’re comfortable managing your own investments, but it offers no guidance if you’re not sure how to build or maintain a portfolio. A slightly higher-fee, advisor-supported option can be worth the extra cost if it means having someone to help you make decisions and stay on track, especially during volatile markets.
P.S. If you’re staring at your district’s approved 403(b) list and not sure where to start, that’s exactly the kind of question we help people work through inside the free community below.
