An Overview of the U.S. Regulated Fund Industry
The largest segment of the asset management business in the United States is registered investment companies (regulated funds). This article focuses on U.S. regulated investment companies—mutual funds, exchange-traded funds, closed-end funds, and unit investment trusts. These funds manage more than $17 trillion of assets, largely on behalf of U.S. investors. The industry has experienced strong growth over the past quarter century from asset appreciation and strong demand from households due to rising household wealth, the aging of the U.S. population, and the evolution of employer-based retirement systems. Price competition and supply-side product innovations and efficiencies have reduced the average price that investors pay for fund services.
401(k) Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Loan Activity in 2012
This paper is an update of the Employee Benefit Research Institute and the Investment Company Institute’s ongoing research into 401(k) plan participants’ activity through year-end 2012. The report is divided into four sections: The first describes the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database; the second presents a snapshot of participant account balances at year-end 2012; the third looks at participants’ asset allocations, including analysis of 401(k) participants’ use of target-date, or lifecycle, funds; and the fourth focuses on participants’ 401(k) loan activity. On average, at year-end 2012, 61 percent of 401(k) participants’ assets were invested in equity securities through equity funds, the equity portion of balanced funds, and company stock. Thirty-three percent was in fixed-income securities such as stable-value investments and bond and money funds. At year-end 2012, 15 percent of the assets in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database were invested in target-date funds and 41 percent of 401(k) participants in the database held target-date funds. Also known as lifecycle funds, these funds are designed to offer a diversified portfolio that automatically rebalances to be more focused on income over time. At year-end 2012, nearly 54 percent of the account balances of recently hired participants in their 20s were in balanced funds, compared with 51 percent in 2011, and about 7 percent in 1998. A significant subset of that balanced fund category is in target-date funds. At year-end 2012, 43 percent of the account balances of recently hired participants in their 20s were invested in target-date funds, compared with 40 percent at year-end 2011. The share of 401(k) accounts invested in company stock edged down to 7 percent at year-end 2012. This share has fallen by more than half since 1999. Recently hired 401(k) participants contributed to this trend: they tended to be less likely to hold employer stock. At year-end 2012, 21 percent of all 401(k) participants who were eligible for loans had loans outstanding against their 401(k) accounts, unchanged from year-end 2011, 2010, and 2009, but up from 18 percent at year-end 2008. Loans outstanding amounted to 13 percent of the remaining account balance, on average, at year-end 2012, down 1 percentage point from year-end 2011. Nevertheless, loan amounts outstanding increased slightly from the previous year. To understand changes in 401(k) participants’ average account balances, it is important to analyze a sample of consistent participants. As with previous EBRI/ICI updates, analysis of a sample of consistent 401(k) participants (those that have been in the same plan since 2007) is expected to be published in 2014.
401(K) Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances, and Loan Activity in 1999
The Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI) have been collaborating for the past four years to collect data on participants in 401(k) plans. This effort, known as the EBRI/ICI Participant-Directed Retirement Plan Data Collection Project, has obtained data for 401(k) plan participants from certain of EBRI and ICI members serving as plan record keepers and administrators. The EBRI/ICI database is large and representative of the 401(k) plan participant universe, as it pulls data from a variety of plan record keepers and administrators and covers a wide range of plan sizes. This report includes 1999 information on 10.3 million active participants in 32,674 plans with $573.4 billion in assets. The 1999 EBRI/ICI database accounts for 11 percent of all 401(k) plans, 26 percent of all 401(k) participants, and about 35 percent of the assets held in 401(k) plans. Key findings include: (1) For all 401(k) participants in the 1999 EBRI/ICI database, three-quarters of plan balances are invested directly or indirectly in equity securities. (2) The average account balance (net of plan loans) for all participants was $55,502 at year-end 1999, which is 18 percent higher than the average account balance at year-end 1998. (3) Investment options offered by plan sponsors influence participants' asset allocation. (4) The asset allocation of participants' account balances varies with age. Younger participants tend to concentrate their assets in equity fund investments, while older participants invest more in fixed-income securities.