Canada (FR)
Trading activity picked up in March, with three above-normal1 trading days. Activity leaned heavily toward fixed income, with net inflows concentrated in stable value, money market and bond funds. At the same time, large U.S. equity, international and premixed funds saw the most outflows.
Despite the shift in trading behavior, overall equity exposure and contributions dipped only slightly, indicating participants stayed committed to long-term allocations while making selective, tactical adjustments.
March observations: |
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Inflows and outflows during the month of March:
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Asset classes with most trading inflows in March | Percentage of inflows | Index dollar value ($mil) |
| Stable value | 47% | $290 |
| Money market | 29% | $176 |
| Bond funds | 16% | $100 |
Asset classes with most trading outflows in March | Percentage of outflows | Index dollar value ($mil) |
| Large U.S. equity funds | 42% | $260 |
| International funds | 25% | $155 |
| Premixed funds | 20% | $122 |
March investment portfolios: |
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Asset classes with largest percentage of total balance at the end of March | Percentage of balance | Index dollar value ($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 31% | $92,061 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 29% | $83,566 |
Company stock funds | 8% | $21,943 |
Asset classes with most contributions in March | Percentage of contributions | Index dollar value($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 46% | $934 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 23% | $469 |
International equity funds | 8% | $157 |
Returns for common indices | March | 2026 YTD |
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index | -1.76% | -0.05% |
S&P 500 Index | -4.98% | -4.33% |
Russell 2000 Index | -5.00% | 0.89% |
MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Index (net) | -10.79% | -0.71% |
1 A “normal” level of relative transfer activity is when the net daily movement of participants’ balances, as a percent of total 401(k) balances within the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™, equals between 0.3 times and 1.5 times the average daily net activity of the preceding 12 months. A “high” relative transfer activity day is when the net daily movement exceeds two times the average daily net activity. A “moderate” relative transfer activity day is when the net daily movement is between 1.5 and 2 times the average daily net activity of the preceding 12 months.
2 Target date funds also include the amounts in target risk funds. The amount in the target risk funds is less than 10% of the total.
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