Typically, when a 401(k) investor signs on with a managed account provider, the investor receives a recommendation produced by that company’s software. A new program launched by NextCapital Group of Chicago, will offer advice from various companies with proprietary investment methodologies of their own, including Russell Investments, a global asset manager and consultant to both 401(k) and defined benefit pension plans. (Full disclosure: NextCapital also powers the “portfolio dashboard” technology available to users of wsj.com, marketwatch.com, and barrons.com, who can use the tool to aggregate all of their holdings onto one balance sheet.) NextCapital president Dirk Quayle says his company is trying to gain market share at the expense of the big managed-account players, including Morningstar, Financial Engines of Sunnyvale, Calif., and Fidelity Investments. But perhaps NextCapital’s biggest selling point is that its accounts will potentially cost as little as half as much as those of rivals.

http://blogs.marketwatch.com/encore/2014/09/03/a-price-war-that-could-help-401k-savers/