BrightScope on Tuesday announced the top three mutual funds by amount of assets held in the eight investment categories most commonly offered in 401(k) retirement plans.
Vanguard and Fidelity accounted for more than half of the funds represented. Investment categories in the rankings are: allocation, alternative assets, bonds, cash/stable value, international stock, large cap, mid cap and small cap.
"It's not surprising to see names like Vanguard and Fidelity coming up over and over because they're also recordkeepers in the 401(k) space. They have a natural distribution channel on the recordkeeping platform," said Brooks Herman, head of data and research at BrightScope, in a phone interview.
Asked if the top rankings are a reflection of the funds' quality, Herman hedged his answer.
"Quality is a hard word to comment on," he said. "Obviously, they're very popular, so plan sponsors and plan participants think they're high quality."
BrightScope's database covers the universe of 10,000 mutual funds that are registered by the Securities and Exchange Commission. BrightScope's technology is designed to uncover audited financial data on investment funds held within 401(k) plans.
Check out the top three mutual funds in each of the eight categories of rankings, including metrics such as net flows, fees and one-year return.
Top Allocation Funds:
Net Assets: $88.97 billion
1-year Net Flows: -$459.0 million
Fees: 0.18% to 0.26%
Turnover: 71.0%
1-year Return: 3.00% to 3.08%
Net Assets: $12.74 billion
1-year Net Flows: -$2.0 billion
Fees: N/A
Turnover: 17.0%
1-year Return: 2.84%
Net Assets: $10.89 billion
1-year Net Flows: -$682.0 million
Fees: N/A
Turnover: 17.0%
1-year Return: 3.4%
Top Alternative Asset Funds:
Net Assets: $46.67 billion
1-year Net Flows: +$2.0 billion
Fees: 0.10% to 0.26%
Turnover: 8.0%
1-year Return: $6.68% to 6.85%
Net Assets: $4.22 billion
1-year Net Flows: +$141.0 million
Fees: 0.80%
Turnover: 24.0%
1-year Return: 8.09%
Net Assets: $2.17 billion
1-year Net Flows: -$181.0 million
Fees: 0.78% to 1.99%
Turnover: 23.0%
1-year Return: 5.54% to 6.83%
Top Bond Funds:
Net Assets: $102.84 billion
1-year Net Flows: -$129.0 billion
Fees: 0.46% to 1.60%
Turnover: 265%
1-year Return: 1.03% to 2.19%
Net Assets: $144.21 billion
1-year Net Flows: +26.0 billion
Fees: 0.05% to 0.20%
Turnover: 72.0%
1-year Return: 2.08% to 2.25%
Net Assets: $20.27 billion
1-year Net Flows: +1.0 billion
Fees: 0.05% to 0.22%
Turnover: 85.0%
1-year Return: 2.28% to 2.46%
Top Cash/Stable Value Funds:
Net Assets: $134.84 billion
1-year Net Flows: +5.0 billion
Fees: 0.10% to 0.14%
Turnover: N/A
1-year Return: 0.01% to 0.06%
Net Assets: $11.61 billion
1-year Net Flows: -$2.0 billion
Fees: 0.24%
Turnover: N/A
1-year Return: 0.01%
Net Assets: $64.99 billion
1-year Net Flows: -$27.0 million
