# 401(k) providers for enterprise buyers: what AI models recommend, November 2026

Gane Index, November 2026 Edition. Asked as "401(k) provider" and as "workplace retirement plan provider", six framings each, to fourteen models with search on, on behalf of an enterprise B2B company. Added to the November 2026 Edition. Page: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/rewards/401k-providers/2026-11/enterprise

**Standing:** Fidelity Investments leads with 48% of first choices; verdict clear leader. 54 first choices across the direct, paraphrase, budget and scale prompts.

## First-choice share

| Rank | Product | Share | Negative rate | Labels |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | [Fidelity Investments](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/fidelity-investments/index.md) | 48% | 2% | 41 |
| 2 | [Vanguard Workplace Solutions](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/vanguard-workplace-solutions/index.md) | 13% | 4% | 54 |
| 3 | [Fidelity Advantage 401](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/fidelity-advantage-401/index.md) | 9% | 4% | 23 |
| 4 | [Empower Retirement](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/empower-retirement/index.md) | 7% | 12% | 59 |
| 5 | [ADP Retirement Services](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/adp-retirement-services/index.md) | 6% | 14% | 36 |
| 6 | [Human Interest](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/human-interest/index.md) | 6% | 27% | 11 |
| 7 | [Charles Schwab](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/charles-schwab/index.md) | 2% | 0% | 21 |
| 8 | [T. Rowe Price](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/t-rowe-price/index.md) | 2% | 6% | 18 |
| 9 | [Principal](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/principal/index.md) | 2% | 14% | 14 |
| 13 | [Principal Financial Group](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/principal-financial-group/index.md) | 0% | 14% | 29 |
| 14 | [Paychex Retirement Services](https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/vendors/paychex-retirement-services/index.md) | 0% | 20% | 15 |

Rank is by share of first choices among all 67 products named; products with the same share are tied, and the order among them carries no meaning. The table lists those with at least 10 labels.

## Each model's first choice on the direct prompt

- Claude Haiku 4.5: no first choice
- GPT-5.4 mini: Empower Retirement, Fidelity Advantage 401; alternatives ADP Retirement Services
- Gemini 3.5 Flash: Fidelity Investments; alternatives Charles Schwab, Empower Retirement, Principal Financial Group, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- Perplexity Sonar: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, Principal Financial Group, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- Grok 4.20: Fidelity Investments; alternatives Empower Retirement, Principal Financial Group, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- Mistral Small: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, Human Interest, Paychex Retirement Services
- DeepSeek V4 Flash: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Alight Solutions, Empower Retirement, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- Llama 4 Maverick: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Fidelity Advantage 401, Principal Financial Group
- Qwen 3.7 Flash: ADP Retirement Services, Fidelity Investments; alternatives Empower Retirement, Principal Financial Group, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- Kimi K2: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Charles Schwab, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- GLM 4.7 FlashX: Fidelity Investments; alternatives ADP Retirement Services, Empower Retirement, Vanguard Workplace Solutions
- MiniMax M2.5: ADP Retirement Services, Human Interest; alternatives Betterment at Work, Fidelity Workplace Investing, Vanguard 401(k) Plan
- GPT-6 Luna: no first choice
- Muse Glimmer 30B: Fidelity Investments; alternatives Empower Retirement, Paychex Retirement Services, Principal Financial Group, Vanguard Workplace Solutions

## Sources the answers cite

69 of 84 answers came back with a source list, from 14 of 14 models. Sites named in the most answers:

- leadchangegroup.com: 36 answers, 54 citations
- adp.com: 34 answers, 52 citations
- forbes.com: 33 answers, 35 citations
- investmentnews.com: 28 answers, 31 citations
- planprovider.pro: 20 answers, 49 citations
- dol.gov: 19 answers, 51 citations
- reddit.com: 18 answers, 34 citations
- spotsaas.com: 16 answers, 20 citations

Pages named in the most answers:

- https://forbes.com/advisor/retirement/best-401k-plans (30 answers)
- https://adp.com/what-we-offer/benefits/retirement/401k.aspx (29 answers)
- https://leadchangegroup.com/401k-providers/enterprise (29 answers)
- https://investmentnews.com/glossary/401k-companies/263041 (19 answers)
- https://leadchangegroup.com/401k-providers (17 answers)
- https://gane.ai/index/hr/rewards/401k-providers/enterprise (15 answers)
- https://planprovider.pro/largest-401k-recordkeepers (14 answers)
- https://planprovider.pro/compare (13 answers)
- https://wealthforseniors.com/retirement/largest-401k-providers (11 answers)
- https://spotsaas.com/blog/10-best-401k-providers-2026 (10 answers)

## Warned against

- John Hancock: 6 of 6 labels negative. "John Hancock settled a class-action over its 401(k) plan for $14 million... "John Hancock - High fees" under negative recommendations." (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt)
- Prudential: 5 of 9 labels negative. "Insurance company plans (AXA, VALIC, Prudential) typically add 0.50-1.00% in extra costs" (Muse Glimmer 30B, negative prompt)
- Empower Retirement: 7 of 59 labels negative. "What to Avoid - Empower: ... median fees are higher ... layered wrap fees and asset-based charges that reduce predictability." (Kimi K2, budget prompt)
- Principal Financial Group: 4 of 29 labels negative. "Avoid: Principal Financial Group (due to recent class-action allegations of fee manipulation)." (GLM 4.7 FlashX, negative prompt)

## Movement since October 2026

Floor: 13 points of share, measured on the calibration repeat.
Same leader: Fidelity Investments at 48%.

- Fidelity Investments: 37% to 48%, +11. Inside the floor by 2 points · rank 1 of 67, unchanged.
- Vanguard Workplace Solutions: 4% to 13%, +9. Inside the floor by 4 points · rank 6 → 2 of 67.
- Fidelity Advantage 401: 13% to 9%, −4. Inside the floor by 9 points · rank 2 → 3 of 67.
- ADP Retirement Services: 9% to 6%, −3. Inside the floor by 10 points · rank 3 → 5 of 67.
- Charles Schwab: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 18 → 7 of 67.
- T. Rowe Price: 0% to 2%, +2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 17 → 8 of 67.
- Guideline: 4% to 2%, −2. Inside the floor by 11 points · rank 7 → 12 of 67.
- Human Interest: 7% to 6%, −1. Inside the floor by 12 points · rank 5 → 6 of 67.
- Empower Retirement: 7% to 7%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 4 of 67, unchanged.
- Principal: 2% to 2%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 9 of 67, unchanged.
- Principal Financial Group: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 19 → 13 of 67.
- Paychex Retirement Services: 0% to 0%, ±0. Inside the floor by 13 points · rank 37 → 14 of 67.

## Record

- Method: https://www.gane.ai/index/hr/methodology
- License: CC BY 4.0. Cite as Gane Index, November 2026 Edition, www.gane.ai/index/hr.