September saw light trading activity with no above-normal1 days, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. Fixed income days outpaced equity days three to one with bond (55%) and money market (25%) funds topping inflows. Average asset allocation in equities slipped back under 70% to 69.6%, while contributions to equities moved up slightly to 68.9%.
September observations:
- On average, 0.007% of 401(k) balances were traded daily.
- 15 of 20 days favored fixed income funds.
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Inflows and outflows during the month of September:
- Trading inflows mainly went to bond, money market funds and company stock.
- Outflows were primarily from target date2, mid U.S. equity funds and small U.S. equity.
Asset classes with most trading inflows in September | Percentage of inflows | Index dollar value ($mil) | |
| 55% | $82 | |
Money market funds | 25% | $37 | |
| Company stock | 9% | $13 |
Asset classes with most trading outflows in September | Percentage of outflows | Index dollar value ($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 38% | $56 |
Mid U.S. equity funds | 22% | $32 |
| Small U.S. equity funds | 13% | $19 |
September investment portfolios:
- After reflecting market movements and trading activity, average asset allocation in equities decreased from 70.0% in August to 69.6% in September.
- New contributions to equities increased from 68.7% in August to 68.9% in September.
Asset classes with largest percentage of total balance at the end of September | Percentage of balance | Index dollar value ($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 31% | $72,146 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 27% | $62,533 |
Stable value funds | 8% | $18,585 |
Asset classes with most contributions in September | Percentage of contributions | Index dollar value($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 51% | $663 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 20% | $265 |
International equity funds | 7% | $91 |
Returns for common indices | September | 2023 YTD |
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index | -2.54% | -1.21% |
S&P 500 Index | -4.77% | 13.07% |
Russell 2000 Index | -5.89% | 2.54% |
MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Index (net) | -3.16% | 5.34% |
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.
Want to know more?
Check out our previous reports
