Having done this for a small biz (<20 employees) recently a couple of comparison points:<p>a) We spent about $5000 to set up with an attorney.<p>b) It's a !@%!@ nightmare to deal with the guy, with the taxes, etc. I would estimate 20 - 40 hours of set-up time for me, 1hr a month of ongoing paperwork and administration.<p>c) It's at LEAST $2500/yr to administer with the variety of little fees.<p>d) It's not straightforward for employees.<p>So suffice to say at $90/mo + $4 per this is a compelling offer.<p>Don't see anything specific about a "switching" opportunity - get yourselves a "switch to us" landing page and send me the link :)
Just my 2 cents. The really exciting part about what you are doing is making 401Ks easier for businesses.<p>The really scary thing is this whole page - <a href="https://captain401.com/investment-philosophy" rel="nofollow">https://captain401.com/investment-philosophy</a><p>I for one don't want a startup investing my retirement fund. I just want to see a list of names that I know (Vanguard, Goldman Sachs...) that I can choose from. If you are providing regular funds as options I would make this abundantly clear and I would push your own investment strategy to the backburner. The core value-add that you are offering is making 401Ks easier for businesses.
This is a much needed service! At Standard Treasury we set up a 401k (no matching, we're a poor startup) through Zenefits, which ended up connecting with <a href="https://www.myubiquity.com/" rel="nofollow">https://www.myubiquity.com/</a> (formerly theonline401k.com). Ubiquity has an unpleasant and unintuitive user interface, poor support, etc. I'm really glad to see a YC company taking on this space, it's worthy of attack.
> Some companies like Fidelity don’t work with small businesses.<p>This is true and something we set out to fix at Justworks. Because we are a PEO we have tons of small customers that get access to 401k much earlier in their life cycle as a business than they would otherwise. For instance, we have some 2 person startups using Fidelity funds (as well as Vanguard etc.). The space is definitely ready for some innovation, though, so it's nice to see a YC company working on it.
When they were on HN a few weeks ago I did not know they were a YC company.<p>I see another poster mentioned myubiquity.com which I was just looking at yesterday. One thing that stood out for me there is the questionnaire that a startup plan can go through to setup a plan. Gives them things they need to think about if they haven't already.<p>Best of luck Captain401! I like the use of the Vanguard index funds. We use those a lot (and in Vanguard managed trusts) and think that is a great decision to go with.<p>I just applied for the fellowship with an idea that leverages the 401(k) as a distribution channel for automated financial planning. Basically a portal that aims to deliver "financial wellness" to participants that combines budgeting, calculators, savings goals, facilitation of insurance and wills, etc. The portal would be offered to RIAs and plan sponsors as an add on service to their existing 401(k) service.<p>I hope that by getting better advice to people that addresses their current situation and their goals that we can help them form good financial habits. Retirement is the end goal but getting the people that live paycheck-to-paycheck a solid foundation right now will help them better be able to save down the line.
Assuming a company doesn't match their employee's 401k, what is the cost for a company to offer a 401k, traditionally, and what is the approx cost using Captain401?
<i>The 401k is tied to a Vanguard fund, which Lee says ultimately leads to higher performance than other funds. ...</i><p>So there's only one (1) fund to available? I don't think that's necessarily a bad thing, but, if that's the case, what's the reasoning behind this?
I don't see an explicit mention on taking on the fiduciary role or not (there's a "taking care of compliance" mention as part of "Automated Administration"). A company I've considered (forusall.com) explicitly calls this out as "We take on the fiduciary role". If you're doing the same, it'd be great to make it clear!
What is the setup and/or recordation fee? The monthly fee is certainly competitive (and IIUC, I like that unlike ForUsAll you're not charging some sort of additional management fee), but I'd want to know what the upfront cost is.
My understanding was that employers have fiduciary obligations to their employees when they setup a 401k plan - does offloading 401k administration remove those obligations or transfer them to Captain401?
"The 401k is tied to dozens of Vanguard index funds"<p>Would be great if someone would offer self-directed 401k plans. In theory, they exist, but in practice, they're nowhere to be found.