3 Great Target-Date Funds for an IRA in 2024

Megan Pacholok: It might be 2024, but investors have until April 15 to make an IRA contribution if they want that contribution to count for tax-year 2023. One question you might be facing is whether you should you consider a target-date fund for your IRA.

Target-date funds are a compelling option to be added to an IRA. The IRA provides a tax advantage for investors who are saving for retirement, while target-date funds allow those investors to have a more hands-off solution that they don’t really have to build, monitor, or rebalance because the portfolio manager is really taking care of those steps.

There are a variety of target-date funds to choose from, and today I’ll highlight three distinct series that earn a Morningstar Medalist Rating of Gold, indicating our analysts’ highest level of conviction.

3 Great Target-Date Funds for an IRA in 2024

Here are the 2050 vintages from each target-date series.

1. American Funds Target Date Retirement RFITX
2. Fidelity Freedom Index FFOPX
3. T. Rowe Price Retirement Blend TBLLX

First is the American Funds Target Retirement series. This series utilizes active funds as its underlying building blocks, most of which earn a Morningstar Medalist Rating of Gold or Silver, giving investors access to topnotch active management. It also benefits from an astute asset-allocation committee. The series has a large-cap bias and conservative bond portfolio which has helped mitigate market risk that comes with the series’ equity-heavy positioning.

Another series to consider is Fidelity Freedom Index, which is built exclusively with underlying passive index funds. An experienced trio of managers with robust resources behind them earned an upgrade to its People rating to High from Above Average, edging its overall Medalist Rating to Gold from Silver. They’ve built a simple and comprehensive series that comes at a low cost, further adding to its appeal.

Unlike the two series already mentioned, T. Rowe Price Retirement Blend provides a healthy balance of underlying active and passive funds rather than relying on one or the other. For example, they hold a passive core U.S. large-cap blend fund and complement it with active management focused on large-cap value and large-cap growth. The team’s exceptional industry expertise and the research-intensive process give us confidence that it will deliver compelling long-term results.

Watch “New iShares Offering Provides a Different Retirement Saving Path” for more from Megan Pacholok.