November Was the Lightest Trading Month for 401(k) Investors

November was the lightest trading month of the year for 401(k) investors, according to the Alight Solutions 401(k) Index. Average net daily trading activity was 0.013% of balances, and there were no days of above-normal trading activity.

Nineteen of the 20 trading days favored fixed income. Year-to-date, 87% of the trading days have favored fixed income and a mere 13% have favored equities.

Asset classes with the most trading inflows in November were bond funds, accounting for 46% of the inflows, which totaled $182 million. This was followed by stable value funds (21%, $81 million) and target-date funds (12%, $47 million).

Asset classes with the most trading outflows in November were company stock (52%, $204 million), large U.S. equity funds (25%, $100 million) and small U.S. equity funds (8%, 33%).

After reflecting market movements and trading activity, the average asset allocation in equities ticked upward from 67.3% in October to 67.7% in November. New contributions to equities increased ever so slightly from 67.4% in October to 67.5% in November.

Asset classes with the largest percentage of total balance at the end of November were target-date funds, according for 29% of the balance and $65.2 billion, followed by large U.S. equity funds (25%, $56.5 billion) and stable value funds (10%, $21.4 billion). Asset classes that took in the most contributions in November were target-date funds (49%, $545 million), large U.S. equity funds (20%, $217 million) and international equity funds (7%, $77 million).

U.S. equity returns were strong in November, with small U.S. equities rising 4.1%, large U.S. equities rising 3.6%, and international equities growing by nearly 1%. U.S. bonds fell slightly by 0.1%.