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Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™: Second Quarter 2024 Observations

Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™: Second Quarter 2024 Observations

401(k) investors were light traders in Q2, with just nine above-normal1 days, compared to 14 in Q1, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. Net trading favored fixed income funds on 37 of 63 days. Bond (39%) and large cap U.S. equity (34%) funds had the most trading inflows, while target date funds2 (50%) and mid cap U.S. equity funds (16%) saw the most outflows. At the close of Q2, the average asset allocation in equities was 71.9%, the highest reported since January 2001.

Second quarter observations:

•    Net transfers for the quarter were 0.26% of balances.

•    37 out of 63 trading days in the second quarter had net trading dollars moving from equities to fixed income.



The Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM statistics for Q2 2024 and year-to-date:

Index statistics

Q2 2024

2024 YTD

Total transfers as percentage of starting balance

0.26%

0.74%

# Fixed days

37 (59%)

70 (56%)

# Equity days

26 (41%)

54 (44%)

# Above-normal1 days

9

23


Asset classes with most trading 

inflows in Q2 2024

Percentage of inflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Bond funds

39%

$280

Large U.S. equity funds

34%

$242

Money market funds

16%

$115

Asset classes with most trading 

outflows in Q2 2024

Percentage of outflows

Index dollar value ($mil)

Target date funds2

50%

$357

Mid U.S. equity funds

16%

$111

Emerging markets funds

11%

$79


Returns for common indices

Q2 2024

2024 YTD

Bloomberg Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index

0.07%

-0.71%

S&P 500 Index

4.28%

15.29%

Russell 2000 Index

-3.28%

1.73%

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

0.96%

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.

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™: September 2024 Observations

Trading activity was light in September with just two above-normal1 days, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. When investors were active, however, there was a flight to safety, as fixed income funds experienced net inflows on 18 of the 20 trading days.

Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™: Third Quarter 2024 Observations

401(k) investors concentrated their trading activity to a handful of days in Q3, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM.

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

401(k) investors were active traders in early August when Wall Street had its worst day in nearly two years. Activity slowed significantly afterward with just three above-normal1 days, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM.