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Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM: Second Quarter 2025 Observations

Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM: November 2024 Observations

Retirement investors were active traders in the second quarter of 2025 amid a volatile market, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. In early April, investors rapidly moved funds from stocks to fixed income, resulting in high trading volumes. As Wall Street recovered, trading activity decreased.

Second quarter observations:        

  • Net transfers for the quarter were 0.46% of balances.
  • 40 out of 62 trading days saw net trading dollars moving from equities to fixed income. 

Alight Solutions 401(k) Index statistics for Q2 2025 and year-to-date:

Index statistics

Q2 

2025 YTD

Total transfers as percentage of starting balance

0.46%

1.16%

# Fixed days

40 (65%)

81 (66%)

# Equity days

22 (35%)

41 (34%)

# Above-normal1 trading days

13

42


Asset classes with most trading 

inflows in Q2 2025

Percentage of inflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Bond funds

42%

$506

Money market funds

12%

$146

Stable value funds

11%

$130

Asset classes with most trading 

outflows in Q2 2025

Percentage of outflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Target date funds2

92%

$1,120

Company stock

6%

$74

Mid U.S. equity funds

2%

$26


Returns for common indices

Q2

2025 YTD

Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond Index

1.21%

4.02%

S&P 500 Index

10.94%

6.20%

Russell 2000 Index

8.50%

-1.79%

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

12.03%

17.90%

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) IndexTM: May 2025 Observations

Retirement plan investors continued engaging in robust trading in May as stocks recovered from their April lows, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM.

Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM: June 2025 Observations

Retirement plan investors were light traders in June, with just one above-normal trading day, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM.

Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM: April 2025 Observations

A volatile stock market led to high trading activity among retirement plan investors in April, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM.