Trading activity held steady in July with two above-normal1 days, the same as in June, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. Investors favored fixed income funds on 13 of 22 days. Bond (48%) and large U.S. equity (32%) funds saw the most inflows, while company stock (43%) and target date funds2 (28%) experienced the most outflows. New contributions to equities increased slightly from 69.6% in June to 69.7% in July, while average asset allocation in equities hit another new 23-year high, rising from 71.9% in June to 72.1% in July.
July observations:
• On average, 0.008% of 401(k) balances were traded daily.
• 13 of 22 days favored fixed income funds.
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Inflows and outflows during the month of July:
• Trading inflows mainly went to bond, large U.S. equity and small U.S. equity funds.
• Outflows were primarily from company stock, target date2 and stable value funds.
Asset classes with most trading inflows in July | Percentage of inflows | Index dollar value ($mil) |
| Bond funds | 48% | $120 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 32% | $79 |
| Small U.S. equity funds | 8% | $20 |
Asset classes with most trading outflows in July | Percentage of outflows | Index dollar value ($mil) |
Company stock | 43% | $107 |
Target date funds2 | 28% | $69 |
| Stable value funds | 14% | $35 |
July investment portfolios:
- After reflecting market movements and trading activity, average asset allocation in equities increased from 71.9% in June to 72.1% in July.
- New contributions to equities increased from 69.6% in June to 69.7% in July.
Asset classes with largest percentage of total balance at the end of July | Percentage of balance | Index dollar value ($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 32% | $87,218 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 29% | $79,030 |
Company stock funds | 7% | $19,836 |
Asset classes with most contributions in July | Percentage of contributions | Index dollar value($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 52% | $720 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 22% | $300 |
International equity funds | 6% | $89 |
Returns for common indices | July | 2024 YTD |
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index | 2.34% | 1.61% |
S&P 500 Index | 1.22% | 16.70% |
Russell 2000 Index | 10.16% | 12.07% |
MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Index (net) | 2.32% | 8.14% |
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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