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Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™: June 2024 Observations

Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™: June 2024 Observations

Trading activity was down slightly in June with just two above-normal1 days, compared to three in May, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. Investors favored fixed income funds on nine of 22 days. Large U.S. equity (40%) and bond (34%) funds saw the most inflows, while target date funds2 (43%) experienced the most outflows. New contributions to equities decreased to 69.6% in June, while average asset allocation in equities increased from 71.7% in May to 71.9% in June, the highest reported since January 2001.

June observations:        

•    On average, 0.008% of 401(k) balances were traded daily.

•    Nine of 19 days favored equity funds.



The Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM statistics for the month of June:

Index statistics

June

2024 YTD

Total transfers as percentage of starting balance

0.09%

0.74%

# Fixed days

9 (47%)

70 (56%)

# Equity days

10 (53%)

54 (44%)

# Above-normal1 days

2

23


Inflows and outflows during the month of June:

•    Trading inflows mainly went to large U.S. equity, bond and money market funds.

•    Outflows were primarily from target date2, mid U.S. equity and small U.S. equity funds.


Asset classes with most trading 

inflows in June

Percentage of inflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Large U.S. equity funds

40%

$98

Bond funds

34%

$84

Money Market funds

14%

$35

Asset classes with most trading 

outflows in June

Percentage of outflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Target date funds2 

43%

$105

Mid U.S. equity funds

17%

$42

Small U.S. equity funds

14%

$34


June investment portfolios:

  • After reflecting market movements and trading activity, average asset allocation in equities increased from 71.7% in May to 71.9% in June.
  • New contributions to equities decreased from 69.8% in May to 69.6% in June.

Asset classes with largest percentage

of total balance at the end of June

  Percentage of balance

  Index dollar value ($mil)  

Target date funds2

31%

$85,581

Large U.S. equity funds

29%

$78,267

Company stock funds

7%

$19,602

Asset classes with most 

contributions in June

Percentage of contributions

Index dollar value($mil)

Target date funds2

51%

$611

Large U.S. equity funds

21%

$256

International equity funds

7%

$80


Returns for common indices

June

2024 YTD

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index

0.95%

-0.71%

S&P 500 Index

3.59%

15.29%

Russell 2000 Index

-0.93%

1.73%

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

-0.10%

5.69%

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.

Related Insights


Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™: October 2026 observations

Retirement plan trading remained modest in October, with 0.06% of assets transferred and trading direction evenly split, as 11 of 22 trading days favored fixed income.

Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM: Third Quarter 2026 Observations

Retirement plan trading slowed in the third quarter as markets delivered mixed results.

Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™: September 2026 observations

Participant trading remained limited in September, even as all four market benchmarks declined for the month. Total transfers represented just 0.06% of starting balances, with only one above-normal1 trading day.