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Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™: First Quarter 2023 Observations

401(k) investors were quiet in the first quarter of 2023, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. There were only two above-normal1 trading days in the quarter. Net transfers as a percentage of starting balances were 0.23%. Bond funds saw the highest level of trading inflows, while outflows favored target date funds.2

First quarter observations:  

  • Net transfers for the quarter were 0.23% of balances.
  • 41 out of 62 trading days in the first quarter had net trading dollars moving from equities to fixed income.

Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™ statistics for Q1 2023 and year-to-date:

Index statistics

Q1 2023

2023 YTD

Total transfers as percentage of starting balance

0.23%

0.23%

# Fixed days

41 (66%)

41 (66%)

# Equity days

21 (34%)

21 (34%)

# Above-normal1 days

2

2

Asset classes with most

trading inflows in Q1 2023

Percentage of inflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Bond funds

66%

$344

Money market funds

17%

$86

Company stock

6%

$32

Asset classes with most

trading outflows in Q1 2023

Percentage of outflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Target date funds2

60%

$310

Stable value funds

16%

$85

International equity funds

10%

$54

First quarter market observations:  

Returns for common indices

Q1 2023

2023 YTD

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index

2.96%

2.96%

S&P 500 Index

7.50%

7.50%

Russell 2000 Index

2.74%

2.74%

MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Index (net)

6.87%

6.87%

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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Trading activity was light in September with just two above-normal1 days, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. When investors were active, however, there was a flight to safety, as fixed income funds experienced net inflows on 18 of the 20 trading days.