Net trading activity in August was 0.13% of balances, up from 0.07% in July. Nearly all trading days in the month saw money moving from equities to fixed income.
August observations:
- On average, 0.01% of 401(k) balances were traded daily.
- 20 of 22 days favored fixed income funds.
The Alight Solutions 401(k) Index statistics for the month of August: |
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Index statistics |
August |
2021 YTD |
Total transfers as percentage of starting balance |
0.13% |
0.50% |
# Fixed days |
20 (91%) |
84 (50%) |
# Equity days |
2 (9%) |
83 (50%) |
# Above-normal days |
0 |
2 |
Inflows and outflows during the month of August:
- Trading inflows mainly went to stable value, bond and specialty/sector funds.
- Outflows were primarily from large U.S. equity, small U.S. equity and company stock funds.
Asset classes with most trading inflows in August |
Percentage of inflows |
Index dollar value ($mil) |
Stable value funds |
47% |
$153 |
Bond funds |
28% |
$92 |
Specialty/Sector funds |
9% |
$29 |
Asset classes with most trading outflows in August |
Percentage of outflows |
Index dollar value ($mil) |
Large U.S. equity funds |
36% |
$117 |
Small U.S. equity funds |
22% |
$73 |
Company stock |
21% |
$69 |
August investment portfolios:
- After reflecting market movements and trading activity, average asset allocation in equities remained the same at 70.2% in August.
- New contributions to equities decreased from 69.4% in July to 69.3% in August.
Asset classes with largest percentage of total balance at- the end of August |
Percentage of balance |
Index dollar value ($mil) |
Target date funds |
30% |
$78,311 |
Large U.S. equity funds |
27% |
$70,232 |
Stable value funds |
8% |
$19,874 |
Asset classes with most contributions in August |
Percentage of contributions |
Index dollar value ($mil) |
Target date funds |
48% |
$493 |
Large U.S. equity funds |
21% |
$216 |
International equity funds |
7% |
$75 |
August market observations: |
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Returns for common indices |
August |
2021 YTD |
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index |
-0.19% |
-0.69% |
S&P 500 Index |
3.04% |
21.58% |
Russell 2000 Index |
2.24% |
15.83% |
MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Index (net) |
1.90% |
9.40% |
Members of the media: please contact Landis Cullen for questions about the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™.