Workers Put Less 401(k) Assets In Their Employers' Stocks

Record low numbers of 401(k) participants are invested in their company’s stock. According to “401(k) Plan Asset Allocation, Account Balances and Loan Activity in 2015,” a recently released analysis from the Employee Benefit Research Institute (EBRI) and the Investment Company Institute (ICI), more 401(k) plan participants held equities in their accounts at the end of 2015 than before the 2008 global financial crisis, but fewer of those equity assets were company stock. Less than 7 percent of the assets in the EBRI/ICI 401(k) database were invested in company stock at the end of 2015. Ownership of company stock in 401(k) plans has declined 63 percent since 1999, when it accounted for 19 percent of plan assets. Two-thirds of 401(k) assets are held in equity securities through equity funds, the equity portion of balanced funds and company stock, according to the report.

from FA News http://www.fa-mag.com/news/401-k-s-hold-more-equities--but-company-stock-ownership-plummets-34150.html