Two of the most common 403(b) custodians used by California teachers, classified employees, and CalSTRS / CalPERS members are Security Benefit (NEA Direct Invest / Election 1) and Orion Portfolio Solutions. Both offer Vanguard mutual funds — but the available lineup, the platform fee, and the cost-per-dollar are different. Below: every Vanguard fund either platform offers, with expense ratios, trailing returns, and how each compares to the S&P 500.
Performance data is gross of advisor fee, net of fund expense ratio + platform admin fee. Source: Vanguard fact sheets, Security Benefit Form 43-10910-03 (12/19/2025), Orion 403(b) Open Fund Availability List. Trailing returns through June 12, 2026.
This page compares which funds each platform offers. The actual model portfolios (Tier 1 Aggressive, Tier 2 Balanced, Tier 3 Income, 5 Vanguard Passive risk tiers, Orion Index-Beat) live on the model portfolios page with full holdings, weights, and YTD/1-Yr returns.
Risk-based model lineup (Conservative through Aggressive). Cash sleeve uses MJGXX (JPMorgan U.S. Government Money Market — not a Vanguard fund).
Full sleeve — sector index funds, dividend strategies, bond duration ladder, inflation-protected, real estate, international.
What every Vanguard fund here is trying to keep up with — or, in the case of dividend, value, and sector tilts, deliberately diverge from.
The 6 funds Security Benefit's Election 1 risk-based models pull from. Cost column is total: fund ER + 0.45% platform fee. Performance is gross of advisor fee. MJGXX is included because it's the contract's cash sleeve, but it is a JPMorgan money-market fund — not Vanguard.
| Ticker | Fund | ER | Total Cost | YTD '26 | 1-Yr | 5-Yr | 10-Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VFIAX | Vanguard 500 Index Adm | 0.04% | 0.49% | +9.1% | +24.4% | +14.4% | +14.8% |
| VTMGX | Vanguard Developed Markets Index Adm | 0.05% | 0.50% | +14.6% | +29.6% | +9.1% | +8.7% |
| VIMAX | Vanguard Mid-Cap Index Adm | 0.05% | 0.50% | +10.4% | +18.2% | +8.6% | +10.9% |
| VSMAX | Vanguard Small-Cap Index Adm | 0.05% | 0.50% | +15.4% | +28.8% | +7.3% | +10.4% |
| VBTLX | Vanguard Total Bond Market Index Adm | 0.04% | 0.49% | +0.3% | +4.3% | -0.4% | +2.0% |
| MJGXX (non-Vanguard) | JPMorgan U.S. Govt Money Market | 0.57% | 1.02% | +1.4% | +3.8% | +2.8% | +1.8% |
22 Vanguard mutual funds Open on the Orion 403(b) availability list, grouped by purpose. Total cost = fund ER + 0.30% admin. Note: VBTLX (Total Bond) is NOT on Orion — VBILX (Intermediate-Term Bond Idx) is the closest substitute.
| Ticker | Fund | ER | Total Cost | 1-Yr | 5-Yr | 10-Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VTSAX | Vanguard Total Stock Market Adm | 0.04% | 0.34% | +9.7% | +24.8% | +13.7% |
| VFIAX | Vanguard 500 Index Adm | 0.04% | 0.34% | +9.1% | +24.4% | +14.8% |
| VIGAX | Vanguard Growth Index Adm | 0.05% | 0.35% | +5.0% | +21.2% | +16.1% |
| VVIAX | Vanguard Value Index Adm | 0.05% | 0.35% | +14.3% | +26.9% | +11.0% |
| Ticker | Fund | ER | Total Cost | 1-Yr | 5-Yr | 10-Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VTMGX | Vanguard Developed Markets Index Adm | 0.05% | 0.35% | +14.6% | +29.6% | +8.7% |
| VEMAX | Vanguard Emerging Markets Stock Adm | 0.13% | 0.43% | +10.9% | +25.1% | +9.3% |
| VGSLX | Vanguard Real Estate Index Adm | 0.13% | 0.43% | +12.6% | +12.9% | +6.1% |
| Ticker | Fund | ER | Total Cost | YTD '26 | 1-Yr | 10-Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VHYAX | Vanguard High Dividend Yield Adm | 0.08% | 0.38% | +12.4% | +24.7% | +12.4% |
| VDADX | Vanguard Dividend Appreciation Adm | 0.07% | 0.37% | +7.7% | +18.2% | +12.8% |
| VEIRX | Vanguard Equity Income Adm | 0.17% | 0.47% | +9.4% | +21.3% | +11.5% |
| VDIGX | Vanguard Dividend Growth Inv | 0.22% | 0.52% | +2.7% | +7.7% | +11.6% |
| Ticker | Fund | ER | Total Cost | Yield | 1-Yr | 10-Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VBILX | Vanguard Intermediate-Term Bond Idx Adm | 0.06% | 0.36% | -0.2% | +4.2% | +2.4% |
| VBIRX | Vanguard Short-Term Bond Index Adm | 0.06% | 0.36% | +0.2% | +3.4% | +1.8% |
| VCORX | Vanguard Core Bond Inv | 0.20% | 0.50% | +0.6% | +4.7% | +2.1% |
| VAIPX | Vanguard Inflation-Protected Securities Adm | 0.10% | 0.40% | +1.2% | +4.5% | +2.1% |
| Ticker | Fund | ER | Total Cost | YTD '26 | 1-Yr | 10-Yr |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VUIAX | Vanguard Utilities Index Adm | 0.09% | 0.39% | +5.0% | +11.9% | +10.5% |
| VGELX | Vanguard Energy Index Adm | 0.20% | 0.50% | +20.5% | +30.3% | +6.4% |
| VINAX | Vanguard Industrials Index Adm | 0.10% | 0.40% | +15.6% | +27.4% | +13.2% |
| VTCAX | Vanguard Communication Services Idx Adm | 0.10% | 0.40% | -3.0% | +15.4% | +10.8% |
| VMIAX | Vanguard Materials Index Adm | 0.10% | 0.40% | +13.7% | +22.1% | +11.8% |
| VCSAX | Vanguard Consumer Staples Index Adm | 0.09% | 0.39% | +10.6% | +7.4% | +9.5% |
| VHCIX | Vanguard Health Care Index Adm | 0.10% | 0.40% | -0.1% | +15.8% | +9.0% |
Cost-of-ownership comparison for the two most common Capital Wealth 403(b) custodians, plus a dollar example. Detail unlocks with the same client-review passcode used elsewhere on the site (ask Sean for the code if you don't have it).
| Ticker | Fund | SB Election 1 | SB Cost | Orion Open | Orion Cost | Savings |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| VFIAX | Vanguard 500 Index Adm | ✓ | 0.49% | ✓ | 0.34% | −15 bps |
| VTMGX | Vanguard Developed Markets | ✓ | 0.50% | ✓ | 0.35% | −15 bps |
| VIMAX | Vanguard Mid-Cap Index | ✓ | 0.50% | — | — | SB only |
| VSMAX | Vanguard Small-Cap Index | ✓ | 0.50% | — | — | SB only |
| VBTLX | Vanguard Total Bond Market | ✓ | 0.49% | — | VBILX sub | SB only |
| +17 more | Sector / dividend / international Vanguard funds | — | — | ✓ | 0.34–0.52% | Orion only |
Switching a $250K balance from a shared SB-Vanguard fund to the same fund on Orion. Compounds: ~$3,750 over 10 years pre-growth.
Orion offers the full Vanguard sector/dividend/duration sleeve. SB Election 1 is risk-based only — no sector tilts, no dividend-growth, no inflation-protected.
Energy, industrials, small-cap and developed-markets indexes lead — beating the S&P (+9.1%) YTD. Bonds (VBTLX +0.3%) and defensive sectors (health care, communications) lag.
All 9 are on a single page with a dropdown selector — click any of these to land on the right model with holdings, weights, and returns:
Capital Wealth specializes in 403(b)s for California teachers, classified employees, public-sector workers, and CalSTRS / CalPERS members. We'll walk through your current contract, the funds you're holding, the platform fee you're paying, and whether a different sleeve would actually leave more in your account at retirement.
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