Who Are the Other '1%'? 5,000 Big Retirement Plans Hold 71% of All 401(k) Assets

WASHINGTON, Feb. 18, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Judy Diamond Associates, the 401(k) plan intelligence provider of leading financial advisors, brokers and fund companies, today released an analysis of the distribution of plan assets nationwide, revealing that the top 1% of plans hold 71.1% of all 401(k) assets.

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There were approximately 500,000 active 401(k) plans in Q4 2013, with a collective $3.5 trillion in total assets.  Nearly three-quarters, or $2.54 trillion, was controlled by the top 1% (5,000 companies). In contrast, the other 99% (495,000 companies) of all 401(k) plans nationwide control only 29% of the total assets.

"This concentration of assets among such a small pool of plans gives large employers an outsized influence on the retirement market," said Eric Ryles, managing director of Judy Diamond Associates. "Our research showed that fewer than two-tenths of 1% of 401(k) plan sponsors are responsible for fully half of our nation's 401(k) retirement plan assets. That's only 630 very large companies controlling $1.75 trillion in assets."

This staggering concentration of responsibility for the nation's 401(k) retirement assets suggests that shifts in the investment options for a small number of plans could have a ripple effect which will impact every aspect of the market.

"Judy Diamond Associates tools help financial advisors and other retirement professionals identify changes in the market and adapt their selling strategies to remain competitive, generating both business intelligence and sales activity," Ryles said. 

Judy Diamond Associates based this research on the most recently available 401(k) plan disclosure documents released by the Department of Labor, which are available in its Retirement Plan Prospector database. Retirement Plan Prospector is an intuitive and comprehensive online sales prospecting and plan analysis tool, providing insights to the defined contribution and defined benefits markets.

For more information about this research, please contact us at www.judydiamond.com/about/contact or follow us on Twitter @401kFacts. 

ABOUT JUDY DIAMOND ASSOCIATES

Judy Diamond Associates is the premier provider of sales prospecting and plan analysis tools for benefits brokers, financial advisors, plan providers, and carriers serving the employee benefits and retirement markets.  Judy Diamond Associates offers instant access to 5500 plan data and a broad suite of analytical tools designed to support the lead generation, relationship building, market research, and plan analysis needs of benefits and retirement professionals.  Judy Diamond Associates' business is built on a commitment to superb customer service and data integrity. We provide all of our customers with free training and access to our customer support hotline, 800-231-0669. Our team of data professionals is dedicated to ensuring our tools offer the most comprehensive, accurate and current data available.

Judy Diamond Associates is a Summit Professional Networks company.

SOURCE Judy Diamond Associates

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