November trading saw two above-normal1 days, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. Investors favored equities on 11 of 21 days. Large U.S. equity (60%), bond (23%) and money market (7%) funds saw the most inflows, while target date2 (38%), company stock (19%) and stable value (16%) funds experienced the most outflows. New contributions to equities increased from 68.8% in October to 69.1%, the first time over 69% since April 2022.
November observations:
- On average, 0.008% of 401(k) balances were traded daily.
- 11 of 21 days favored equity funds.
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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 target date,2 company stock and stable value funds.
Asset classes with most trading inflows in November | Percentage of inflows | Index dollar value ($mil) | |
| 60% | $141 | |
Bond funds | 23% | $54 | |
| Money market funds | 7% | $17 |
Asset classes with most trading outflows in November | Percentage of outflows | Index dollar value ($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 38% | $89 |
Company stock | 19% | $45 |
| Stable value funds | 16% | $37 |
November investment portfolios:
- After reflecting market movements and trading activity, average asset allocation in equities increased from 69.2% in October to 70.2% in November.
- New contributions to equities increased from 68.8% in October to 69.1% in November.
Asset classes with largest percentage of total balance at the end of November | Percentage of balance | Index dollar value ($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 32% | $76,334 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 28% | $66,486 |
Stable value funds | 7% | $18,037 |
Asset classes with most contributions in November | Percentage of contributions | Index dollar value($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 51% | $619 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 21% | $249 |
International equity funds | 7% | $88 |
Returns for common indices | November | 2023 YTD |
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index | 4.53% | 1.64% |
S&P 500 Index | 9.13% | 20.80% |
Russell 2000 Index | 9.05% | 4.20% |
MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Index (net) | 9.00% | 10.09% |
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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