Total U.S. retirement assets reached $35.4 trillion as of March 31, up 3.5% from Dec. 31, according to the Investment Company Institute.
The first-quarter jump in retirement assets, which accounted for 31% of all household financial assets in the United States as of the end of March, is directly attributed to the 7.5% rise in the S&P 500 index during the first three months of 2023. Last year the S&P 500 index fell 20%.
Breaking the ICI’s Q1 report down further, assets in individual retirement accounts totaled $12.5 trillion at the end of the first quarter, an increase of 4.3% from the end of the fourth quarter. The ICI said 42% of IRA assets, or $5.2 trillion, was invested in mutual funds, primarily in equity funds ($2.9 trillion).
Meanwhile, the report showed defined-contribution plan assets totaled $9.8 trillion at the end of the first quarter, up 5% from the end of 2022, of which $6.9 trillion was held in 401(k) plans. Digging deeper, mutual funds managed $4.3 trillion, or 62%, of the assets held in 401(k) plans, with equity funds once again leading the pack with $2.5 trillion in assets.
As for public employees, government defined-benefit plans held $7.7 trillion in assets at the end of March, a 0.5% increase from the end of 2022, the ICI said. Total U.S. retirement entitlements were $41.8 trillion, including $35.4 trillion of retirement assets and an additional $6.4 trillion of unfunded liabilities, according to the ICI report.
The bank has swiped three private banking veterans from BNY as the city climbs the ranks of America's fastest-growing wealth hubs.
Employee accounts, crypto trials and job cuts frame a pivotal year for the Swiss lender.
New name draws on founder's family history as consolidation reshapes the broker-dealer landscape.
Deal brings tech-focused planning expertise, expanded Pacific Northwest presence to national RIA platform.
Five low-cost index ETFs to anchor Trump Accounts as advisors weigh options against 529 and UTMA plans for clients
Dan Biagini of American Equity says the steady decline of pensions, longer lifespans and a reset in interest rates are rewriting how advisors build retirement income
Direct indexing is on pace to outgrow ETFs and mutual funds. Northern Trust's Ken Lassner explains why the advisors who get it wish they had started sooner.