Defined Contribution Assets Top $2 Trillion in 1999

May 25, 2000 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Corporate defined contribution plans continued their steady growth in 1999, reaching $2.4 trillion in assets, according to the Spectrem Group.

The research and consulting firm said that defined contribution plans now represent half of all corporate retirement plan assets. Of the total, $1.4 trillion is made up of 401(k) plan assets.

The report also found:

  • plan sponsors are overall content with their plan providers; only 2% of the 635 sponsors interviewed for the study indicated they would definitely switch vendors for a 15% fee reduction
  • mutual fund providers are still growing their market share and now control 39% of full-service plans
  • plan savings continue to shift into equity investments; assets in equity funds and company stock represented 63.5% of the total, up from 55.3% in 1997
  • with increasing concentration of assets in equities, performance will remain a key determinant of satisfaction among plan sponsors
  • recordkeeping is still a hot button for plan sponsors, with sub-standard service in this area a major reason for switching vendors.

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