The average self-directed brokerage account balance for all participants in the Schwab Personal Choice Retirement program in the first quarter increased by 23.4% from the 2017 first quarter to $261,900, Schwab reported Friday.
SDBAs are brokerage accounts within retirement plans that participants can use to invest in stocks, bonds, exchange-traded funds, mutual funds and other securities that are not part of their plan's core investment offerings.
The new report was based on data collected from some 137,000 Schwab retirement plan participants with current balances between $5,000 and $10 million.
Schwab data showed that in the first quarter, mutual funds received 38% of participant assets, up 1% from a year ago, while allocations to equities held steady at 29%.
Investments in ETFs stood at 17%, in cash 14% and in fixed income 2%.
Participants averaged only 2.6 trades per month, up slightly from the fourth quarter, despite high market volatility during the January-to-March period.
According to the report, large-cap mutual funds represented approximately 28% of all allocations, followed by 20% in taxable bond funds, 17% in international funds, 13% in hybrid funds and 12% in small-cap funds.
