Wall Street’s roller coaster ride during the first quarter of 2018 spurred 401(k) investors to high trading activity, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) IndexTM. There were 23 days of above-normal1 trading activity in the quarter—the most in a quarter since Q1 2000, which had 25 above-normal days.
First quarter observations:
- Net transfers for the quarter were 0.43% of balances
- 32 out of 61 trading days in the first quarter had net trading dollars moving from fixed income to equities
Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™ statistics for Q1 2018 and year to date:
Index Statistics
| Q1 2018 | 2018 YTD | |
|---|---|---|
| Total transfers as percentage of starting balance: | 0.43% | 0.43% |
| # Fixed days: | 29(48%) | 29(48%) |
| # Equity days: | 32(52%) | 32(52%) |
| # Above-normal days: | 23 | 23 |
Asset classes with most trading inflows in Q1 2018
| Percentage of inflows | Index dollar value ($ mil) |
|
|---|---|---|
| International funds | 35% | $306 |
| Stable value funds | 23% | $202 |
| Emerging markets funds | 16% | $138 |
Asset classes with most trading outflows in Q1 2018
| Percentage of outflows | Index dollar value ($ mil) |
|
|---|---|---|
| Target date funds2 | 34% | $303 |
| Company stock | 27% | $235 |
| Large U.S. equity funds | 12% | $104 |
First quarter market observations:
As volatility increased during first quarter, all of our followed capital market indices experienced drops in value. U.S. bonds (represented by the Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index) and international equities (represented by the MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Index) fell greater than 1.0%. Large U.S. equities (represented by the S&P 500 Index) dropped just under one percent and small U.S. equities (represented by the Russell 2000 Index) fell by 0.1%.
Returns for common indices
| Q1 2018 | 2018 | |
|---|---|---|
| Bloomberg Barclays U.S. Aggregate Index | -1.5% | -1.5% |
| S&P 500 Index | -0.8% | -0.8% |
| Russell 2000 Index | -0.1% | -0.1% |
| MSCI All Country World ex-U.S. Index (net) | -1.2% | -1.2% |
Members of the media: please contact MacKenzie Lucas for questions about the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index™.
Learn more about the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index here.
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