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Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™: November 2022 Observations

Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™: November 2022 Observations

With only one above-normal1 day in November, 401(k) plan investors were light traders throughout the month, according to the Alight 401(k) IndexTM. Following two months where stable value funds topped net inflows, November saw large U.S. equity funds receiving the most inflows. Net outflows came primarily from company stock and target date funds2.

 


 

November observations:

  • On average, 0.01% of 401(k) balances were traded daily.
  • 12 of 21 days favored fixed income funds.

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

Index statistics

November

2022 YTD

Total transfers as percentage of starting balance

0.09%

1.19%

# Fixed days

12 (57%)

165 (72%)

# Equity days

9 (43%)

65 (28%)

# Above-normal days

1

41


Inflows and outflows during the month of November:

  • Trading inflows mainly went to large U.S. equity, bond and money market funds.
  • Outflows were primarily from company stock, target date2 and international equity funds.

Asset classes with most trading

inflows in November

Percentage of inflows

Index dollar value($mil)

Large U.S. equity funds

48%

$94

Bond funds

35%

$69

Money market funds

16%

$31

Asset classes with most trading

outflows in November

Percentage of outflows

Index dollar value($mil)

Company stock

34%

$66

Target date funds2

28%

$55

International equity funds

13%

$25


November investment portfolios:

  • After reflecting market movements and trading activity, average asset allocation in equities increased from 68.1% in October to 68.9% in November.
  • New contributions to equities decreased from 68.1% in October to 67.9% in November.

Asset classes with largest percentage
of total balance at the end of November

Percentage of balance

Index dollar value ($mil)

Target date funds2

30%

$68,654

Large U.S. equity funds

26%

$60,469

Stable value funds

9%

$21,635

Asset classes with most

contributions in November

Percentage of contributions

Index dollar value($mil)

Target date funds2

50%

$531

Large U.S. equity funds

20%

$209

International equity funds

7%

$73


Returns for common indices

November

2022 YTD

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index

3.68 %

-12.62 %

S&P 500 Index

5.59 %

-13.10 %

Russell 2000 Index

2.34 %

-14.91 %

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

11.80 %

-15.37 %

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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