October trading was light with just one above-normal1 day, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. Investors favored fixed income on 14 of 22 days. Money market (56%), international equity (13%) and company stock (12%) saw the most inflows, while target date2 (57%), mid U.S. equity (20%) and small U.S. equity (13%) funds experienced the most outflows. New contributions to equities decreased slightly, from 68.9% in September to 68.8% in October.
October observations:
- On average, 0.008% of 401(k) balances were traded daily.
- 14 of 22 days favored fixed income funds
| |||||||||||||||||||||||
Inflows and outflows during the month of October:
- Trading inflows mainly went to money market, international equity funds and company stock.
- Outflows were primarily from target date,2 mid U.S. equity funds and small U.S. equity.
Asset classes with most trading inflows in October | Percentage of inflows | Index dollar value ($mil) | |
| 56% | $83 | |
International equity funds | 13% | $19 | |
| Company stock | 12% | $18 |
Asset classes with most trading outflows in October | Percentage of outflows | Index dollar value ($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 57% | $84 |
Mid U.S. equity funds | 20% | $29 |
| Small U.S. equity funds | 13% | $19 |
October investment portfolios:
- After reflecting market movements and trading activity, average asset allocation in equities decreased from 69.6% in September to 69.2% in October.
- New contributions to equities decreased from 68.9% in September to 68.8% in October.
Asset classes with largest percentage of total balance at the end of October | Percentage of balance | Index dollar value ($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 31% | $70,302 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 27% | $61,042 |
Stable value funds | 8% | $18,506 |
Asset classes with most contributions in October | Percentage of contributions | Index dollar value($mil) |
Target date funds2 | 51% | $563 |
Large U.S. equity funds | 20% | $222 |
International equity funds | 7% | $78 |
Returns for common indices | October | 2023 YTD |
Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index | -1.58% | -2.77% |
S&P 500 Index | -2.10% | 10.69% |
Russell 2000 Index | -6.82% | -4.45% |
MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Index (net) | -4.13% | 0.99% |
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
