Total U.S. retirement assets stood at $28 trillion at the end of the first quarter, according to the latest release from the Investment Company Institute. More than half of those assets were in either defined contribution plans ($7.7 trillion) and IRAs ($9.2 trillion). Quarter-over-quarter, assets declined by about $200 billion since the end of 2017; the most meaningful decline was in government-sponsored defined benefit plans.
* IRA data are estimates
401(k) assets fell by about $25 billion during the first quarter. Of the $3.5 trillion in mutual fund assets, 68% were invested in equity funds. Target-date mutual funds were the next most popular, with $978 billion in total assets. Total target-date assets across all investment vehicles were estimated at $1.1 trillion.
Two-thirds of all target-date assets were held by defined contribution plans, with the other third held by other investors and IRAs.
