Schwab Report: Self-Directed 401(k) Balances Down, Investors Hold Steady as S&P 500 Experiences First Correction in Two Years
The SDBA Indicators Report from Charles Schwab reveals that the average account balance across self-directed brokerage accounts (SDBAs) in Q1 2022 was
- Average advised account balances at
$525,254 compared to$286,008 for non-advised accounts. - Participants held an average of 12.5 positions in their SDBAs, consistent with the previous quarter.
- Top equity holdings remained stable, indicating investor confidence.
- Average account balance decreased by 0.51% year-over-year and 6.25% from Q4 2021.
- Trading volumes fell to an average of 13.7 trades, down from 19.6 in Q1 2021.
SDBAs are brokerage accounts within retirement plans, including 401(k)s and other types of retirement plans, that participants can use to invest retirement savings in individual stocks and bonds, as well as exchange-traded funds, mutual funds and other securities that are not part of their retirement plan's core investment offerings.
The first quarter SDBA Indicators align with the performance of volatile equity and bond markets where the combination of a pivoting
Allocation Trends
The data also reveals specific asset class and sector holdings within each investment category. Overall, allocations were very similar to the prior quarter:
-
Mutual funds: Large-cap stock funds had the largest allocation at approximately
35.4% of all mutual fund allocations. They were followed by taxable bond (18.7% ) and international (14.5% ) funds. -
Equities: The largest equity sector holding was Information Technology at
30.5% , down slightly from31.8% the prior quarter and up from28.5% in the first quarter of last year. The top five equity holdings remained the same as the prior quarter. Apple was the largest individual stock holding (12% ), followed by Tesla (9.4% ), Amazon (4.7% ), Microsoft (3.2% ) and NVIDIA (2.7% ). -
ETFs: Among ETFs, investors continued to allocate the most dollars to
U.S. equity (51.3% ), followed by sector ETFs (13.2% ),U.S. fixed income (12.6% ) and international equity (12.4% ).
Other Report Highlights
-
Advised accounts held higher average account balances compared to non-advised accounts,
vs.$525,254 .$286,008 -
Gen X had the most advised accounts at
49.6% , followed by Baby Boomers (32.5% ) and Millennials (14.9% ). -
Gen X made up
45.5% of SDBA participants, followed by Baby Boomers (30.0% ) and Millennials (18.9% ). -
Baby Boomers had the highest SDBA balances at an average of
, followed by Gen X at$520,616 and Millennials at$299,520 .$102,113 - Trading volumes decreased significantly from one year ago, down to 13.7 trades from 19.6 in Q1 of 2021, and are up slightly from Q4 of 2021 (13.3).
- On average, participants held 12.5 positions in their SDBAs at the end of Q1 2022, consistent with the prior quarter and up slightly from 12.2 at the end of Q1 2021.
About the SDBA Indicators Report
The SDBA Indicators Report includes data collected from approximately 181,000 retirement plan participants who currently have balances between
The SDBA Indicators Report tracks a wide variety of investment activity and profile information on participants with a Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account (PCRA), ranging from asset allocation trends and asset flow in various equity, exchange-traded fund and mutual fund categories, to age trends and trading activity. The SDBA Indicators Report provides insight into PCRA users’ perceptions of the markets and the investment decisions they make.
Data contained in this quarterly report is from the first quarter of 2022, and can be found here, along with prior reports.
About
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Disclosures:
Brokerage Products: Not FDIC‐Insured • No Bank Guarantee • May Lose Value
The securities shown are for informational purposes only and are not a recommendation to transact in any security.
Through its operating subsidiaries,
This report is for informational purposes only and is not a solicitation, or a recommendation that any particular investor should purchase or sell any particular security.
Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account® (PCRA) is offered through
All corporate names are for illustrative purposes only and are not a recommendation, offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy any security.
0622-27E7
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Charles Schwab
330-908-4334
mike.peterson@schwab.com
973-618-6993
schwabrps@neibartgroup.com
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