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Morningstar's Fourth Annual Study of Health Savings Accounts Shows Fidelity's HSA Remains Top Choice For Both HSA Spenders and Investors
An in-depth assessment of 11 HSA providers finds signs of industry progress, though fees and transparency remain hurdles CHICAGO, Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/
About this update from Morningstar, Inc.
[{"type":"text","content":"An in-depth assessment of 11 HSA providers finds signs of industry progress, though fees and transparency remain hurdles\n\n\nCHICAGO, Oct. 14, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- Morningstar, Inc. (Nasdaq: MORN), a leading provider of independent investment research, today published its fourth annual study assessing 11 of the most prominent Health Savings Accounts (HSAs) available to individuals. Morningstar evaluated the providers' success from two different use cases: as an investment account to save for future medical expenses and as a spending account to cover current medical costs. New to this year's study, Morningstar tracked total assets for 14 of the largest and most prominent HSAs available to employers and individuals, highlighting asset growth trends and changes in market share among these providers.\nOverall, the study found that HSA providers improved in quality over the last year, with a number of plans cutting fees, enhancing the design of their investment menus, and lowering investment thresholds. However, there's room for improvement, as fees generally remain high and many providers require participants to maintain a minimum checking account balance before they can invest. Transparency also remains a hurdle, as investors have limited resources to help them navigate the young and frequently changing HSA landscape. \n\"Despite market volatility earlier this year, investors continued to place money into their HSA accounts. There's a wide divergence in the quality of HSAs available to individuals, though providers have continued to improve their offerings by cutting fees and streamlining their investment menus. We found that Fidelity continues to offer the most attractive HSA for both spenders and investors,\" said Leo Acheson, director of multi-asset ratings at Morningstar. \"As HSAs continue to mature and evolve, it's important that providers promote greater fee transparency, maintain strong investment line-ups, and simplify and improve plan features.\"\nHighlights from the study include:\nFidelity and Lively have the best HSAs for spenders, as both waive maintenance and additional fees. Fidelity also offers the best HSA for investors thanks to very low fees when compared to alternative offerings and no investment threshold. Additionally, Bank of America, The HSA Authority, and HealthEquity offer compelling HSAs for investors. ...