This report ranks the recordkeepers that serve large 401(k) plans in North Carolina, using the U.S. Department of Labor's Form 5500 Schedule C service-provider disclosures for plan year 2025. Across 365 large 401(k) plans in North Carolina that disclosed a recordkeeper — covering 597,385 active participants and $50.7B in plan assets — the market remains highly concentrated at the top.
Fidelity is the most widely used recordkeeper by number of plans served, named as the primary recordkeeper on 80 plans (21.9% of the recordkeeper-served market), followed by Principal with 58 plans (15.9%). Ranked by assets on the plans they serve, Fidelity leads with $24.3B.
Primary recordkeeper per plan · 2025 plan year · share of the 365 large 401(k) plans in North Carolina that disclose a recordkeeper.
| # | Recordkeeper | Plans | Plans YoY | Participants | Assets on plans | Plans share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fidelity | 80 | -70.0% | 188,127 | $24.3B | 21.9% |
| 2 | Principal | 58 | -67.4% | 304,601 | $12.9B | 15.9% |
| 3 | Empower | 55 | -74.9% | 36,513 | $4.2B | 15.1% |
| 4 | ADP | 37 | -61.9% | 10,336 | $739.9M | 10.1% |
| 5 | John Hancock | 26 | -62.3% | 7,506 | $533.4M | 7.1% |
| 6 | Vanguard | 21 | -71.6% | 6,861 | $926.5M | 5.8% |
| 7 | Ascensus | 15 | -77.9% | 2,395 | $211.8M | 4.1% |
| 8 | Voya | 11 | -56.0% | 4,279 | $232.4M | 3.0% |
| 9 | Schwab | 9 | -62.5% | 9,042 | $1.9B | 2.5% |
| 10 | Paychex | 7 | -56.3% | 2,314 | $64.5M | 1.9% |
| 11 | T. Rowe Price | 6 | -68.4% | 13,028 | $3.3B | 1.6% |
| 12 | Transamerica | 6 | -80.0% | 1,796 | $179.0M | 1.6% |
| 13 | Mvp Plan Administrators(as filed) | 4 | -73.3% | 910 | $93.1M | 1.1% |
| 14 | Capital Group (American Funds) | 4 | -77.8% | 432 | $54.5M | 1.1% |
| 15 | OneAmerica | 3 | -87.0% | 720 | $37.3M | 0.8% |
| 16 | Newport Group | 2 | -92.9% | 1,121 | $468.5M | 0.5% |
| 17 | Merrill (Bank of America) | 2 | -84.6% | 962 | $202.2M | 0.5% |
| 18 | Lincoln Financial | 2 | -83.3% | 390 | $58.2M | 0.5% |
| 19 | Jpmorgan Invest Holdings(as filed) | 2 | -50.0% | 292 | $42.3M | 0.5% |
| 20 | The Standard (StanCorp) | 2 | -85.7% | 2,871 | $30.9M | 0.5% |
| 21 | EPIC Retirement Plan Services | 2 | -66.7% | 526 | $28.0M | 0.5% |
| 22 | TIAA | 2 | -66.7% | 684 | $23.4M | 0.5% |
| 23 | Southstate Retirement Plan Services(as filed) | 1 | 0.0% | 128 | $23.5M | 0.3% |
| 24 | Prudential / PGIM | 1 | — | 236 | $21.2M | 0.3% |
| 25 | Retirement Plan Services(as filed) | 1 | -66.7% | 235 | $18.7M | 0.3% |
Sum of each plan’s end-of-year total plan assets, pooled investment vehicles excluded. “Assets on plans served,” not assets under administration.
| # | Recordkeeper | Plans | Plans YoY | Participants | Assets on plans | Assets share |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Fidelity | 80 | -70.0% | 188,127 | $24.3B | 47.9% |
| 2 | Principal | 58 | -67.4% | 304,601 | $12.9B | 25.4% |
| 3 | Empower | 55 | -74.9% | 36,513 | $4.2B | 8.4% |
| 4 | T. Rowe Price | 6 | -68.4% | 13,028 | $3.3B | 6.6% |
| 5 | Schwab | 9 | -62.5% | 9,042 | $1.9B | 3.8% |
| 6 | Vanguard | 21 | -71.6% | 6,861 | $926.5M | 1.8% |
| 7 | ADP | 37 | -61.9% | 10,336 | $739.9M | 1.5% |
| 8 | John Hancock | 26 | -62.3% | 7,506 | $533.4M | 1.1% |
| 9 | Newport Group | 2 | -92.9% | 1,121 | $468.5M | 0.9% |
| 10 | Voya | 11 | -56.0% | 4,279 | $232.4M | 0.5% |
| 11 | Ascensus | 15 | -77.9% | 2,395 | $211.8M | 0.4% |
| 12 | Merrill (Bank of America) | 2 | -84.6% | 962 | $202.2M | 0.4% |
| 13 | Transamerica | 6 | -80.0% | 1,796 | $179.0M | 0.4% |
| 14 | Mvp Plan Administrators(as filed) | 4 | -73.3% | 910 | $93.1M | 0.2% |
| 15 | Paychex | 7 | -56.3% | 2,314 | $64.5M | 0.1% |
| 16 | Lincoln Financial | 2 | -83.3% | 390 | $58.2M | 0.1% |
| 17 | Capital Group (American Funds) | 4 | -77.8% | 432 | $54.5M | 0.1% |
| 18 | Jpmorgan Invest Holdings(as filed) | 2 | -50.0% | 292 | $42.3M | 0.1% |
| 19 | OneAmerica | 3 | -87.0% | 720 | $37.3M | 0.1% |
| 20 | The Standard (StanCorp) | 2 | -85.7% | 2,871 | $30.9M | 0.1% |
| 21 | EPIC Retirement Plan Services | 2 | -66.7% | 526 | $28.0M | 0.1% |
| 22 | Southstate Retirement Plan Services(as filed) | 1 | 0.0% | 128 | $23.5M | 0.0% |
| 23 | TIAA | 2 | -66.7% | 684 | $23.4M | 0.0% |
| 24 | Prudential / PGIM | 1 | — | 236 | $21.2M | 0.0% |
| 25 | Retirement Plan Services(as filed) | 1 | -66.7% | 235 | $18.7M | 0.0% |
Largest changes in plans served among recordkeepers with 100+ plans in either year.
Scope is limited to 401(k) plans whose sponsor is based in North Carolina. Each plan is attributed to its sponsor's state from the Form 5500, so a multi-state employer's plan is counted once, in its filing state. Scope is 401(k) plans only — filings whose pension-benefit code carries the 401(k) feature and are not defined-benefit plans — so the figures are comparable to other 401(k) market benchmarks. Each plan is attributed to a single primary recordkeeper — the disclosed recordkeeper receiving the highest direct compensation — so figures are unduplicated and brand shares sum to 100%. Provider-name spellings are consolidated into brand families using a curated, published mapping. Assets are each plan's own end-of-year total plan assets, summed across the plans a recordkeeper is primary on, with pooled investment vehicles (master trusts and other Direct Filing Entities) excluded to avoid double-counting. Because Schedule C is filed almost exclusively by large (generally 100+ participant) plans, this is a large-plan 401(k) market view. See the methodology for full definitions and limitations.
Full definitions and limitations: Methodology §7.
Source: U.S. Department of Labor EFAST2 public release of Form 5500 & Form 5500-SF, Schedule C (service providers) and Schedule H (financials), plan years 2022–2025. Generated October 19, 2026.
