PCI’s 401(k) Investment Lineup vs. Passive Scorecard (ILPS) answers the question ‘Do 401(k) investment lineups outperform all-index lineups?’
Annually, PCI sponsors research examining whether investment options in Defined Contribution (DC) Plans, such as 401(k)s, perform better than similar market indices. It indicates whether the funds included in 401(k) lineups benefit retirement plan participants, compared to if they were invested in the corresponding and relative index.
This information is crucial for a nation relying on DC plans as the primary means for its workers’ retirement.
This research is conducted annually by Dr. Rui Yao, Ph.D., CFP®, Professor and Director of Graduate Studies of Personal Finance Planning at the University of Missouri. The 2025 update, reporting the findings of the 2022 plan year, is now available.
Access the full results in the 401(k) Investment Lineup vs. Passive Scorecard report by submitting the form.
Reporting from the 2022 plan year returns.
The results from the latest update for the 2022 year at the plan level show that 57.49% of plans achieved a higher expected return than an all-index lineup. Generally, the percentage of plans that outperformed their benchmark plan, as measured by expected return, was higher for plans with a smaller market value.
Risk-adjusted performance tells a more nuanced story. Only 30.59% of plans outperformed their benchmark based on the Sharpe ratio, which accounts for both return and total risk. In this case, the highest outperformance was among the largest plans. However, when measured by the Sortino ratio, which focuses on downside risk, the average plan-level outperformance rose to 62.18%, with smaller plans again showing stronger results.
These findings highlight that plan-level performance can vary significantly depending on how it’s measured.
Percentage of Defined Contribution Plans Outperforming an All-Index Lineup on a Year-By-Year Basis.
The data consisted of four categories of retirement plans of various sizes based on their market values, $1 million to $10 million, $10-100 million, $100-500 million, and over $500 million. This sample is representative of its underlying plan population, which includes audited plans with at least one million dollars in plan assets and have at least three mutual funds that are not money market funds. One plan was excluded from fund- and plan-level analysis due to having no return data. For the fund-level analysis, one fund was excluded from the analysis due to having only 1 month’s return data. Twenty-four funds had 2-11 months return data and were compared with benchmark funds with return data from the corresponding months. The lack of return data affected 297 plans but did not lead to an additional removal of plans from the plan-level analysis. The final sample size was 4,999 for the fund- and the plan-level analysis.
The report evaluates performance both at the individual fund-level, as well as the overall plan level.
The report considers several methods for determining if a fund outperforms its assigned index during a calendar year.
● Table 1 reports the number of the total population and the sample of each fund size category.
● Table 2 reports the mean ratio of funds in plans that outperformed their benchmark.
● Table 3 reports the percentage of plans in general and in each size category that outperformed their benchmark.
The performance measures five panels of analysis for both the fund level and the plan level. The panels include higher expected return, lower risk (standard deviation), higher Sharpe ratio, lower downside risk, and higher Sortino ratio.
The results from the latest update for the 2022 year at the plan level show that 57.49% of plans achieved a higher expected return than an all-index lineup. Generally, the percentage of plans that outperformed their benchmark plan, as measured by expected return, was higher for plans with a smaller market value.
Risk-adjusted performance tells a more nuanced story. Only 30.59% of plans outperformed their benchmark based on the Sharpe ratio, which accounts for both return and total risk. In this case, the highest outperformance was among the largest plans. However, when measured by the Sortino ratio, which focuses on downside risk, the average plan-level outperformance rose to 62.18%, with smaller plans again showing stronger results.
These findings highlight that plan-level performance can vary significantly depending on how it’s measured.
Percentage of Defined Contribution Plans Outperforming an All-Index Lineup on a Year-By-Year Basis.
The data consisted of four categories of retirement plans of various sizes based on their market values, $1 million to $10 million, $10-100 million, $100-500 million, and over $500 million. This sample is representative of its underlying plan population, which are audited plans with at least one million dollars in plan assets and have at least three mutual funds that are not a money market fund. One fund only had return data for 1 month during the past 12 months and was excluded from the entire analysis. Affected plans were treated as if they did not have such fund in their lineup. Forty-one funds had return data between 2 and 11 months; they were included for the fund-level analysis but excluded from the plan-level analysis. This sample selection affected 54 plans but only led to the deletion of 1 plan in the smallest size category from the plan-level analysis. The final sample size was 5,000 for the fund-level analysis and 4,999 for the plan-level analysis.
The report evaluates performance both at the individual fund-level as well as the overall plan level.
The report considers several methods for determining if a fund outperforms its assigned index during a calendar year.
● Table 1 reports the number of the total population and the sample of each fund size category.
● Table 2 reports the mean ratio of funds in plans that outperformed their benchmark.
● Table 3 reports the percentage of plans in general and in each size category that outperformed their benchmark.
The performance measures five panels of analysis for both the fund level and the plan level. The panels include higher expected return, lower risk (standard deviation), higher Sharpe ratio, lower downside risk, and higher Sortino ratio.
The results from the latest update for the 2022 year at the plan level show that 57.49% of plans achieved a higher expected return than an all-index lineup. Generally, the percentage of plans that outperformed their benchmark plan, as measured by expected return, was higher for plans with a smaller market value.
Risk-adjusted performance tells a more nuanced story. Only 30.59% of plans outperformed their benchmark based on the Sharpe ratio, which accounts for both return and total risk. In this case, the highest outperformance was among the largest plans. However, when measured by the Sortino ratio, which focuses on downside risk, the average plan-level outperformance rose to 62.18%, with smaller plans again showing stronger results.
These findings highlight that plan-level performance can vary significantly depending on how it’s measured.
Percentage of Defined Contribution Plans Outperforming Their Benchmark on a Year-By-Year Basis.
The data consisted of four categories of retirement plans of various sizes based on their market values, $1 million to $10 million, $10-100 million, $100-500 million, and over $500 million. This sample is representative of its underlying plan population, which includes audited plans with at least one million dollars in plan assets and have at least three mutual funds that are not money market funds. One plan was excluded from fund- and plan-level analysis due to having no return data. For the fund-level analysis, one fund was excluded from the analysis due to having only 1 month’s return data. Twenty-four funds had 2-11 months return data and were compared with benchmark funds with return data from the corresponding months. The lack of return data affected 297 plans but did not lead to an additional removal of plans from the plan-level analysis. The final sample size was 4,999 for the fund- and the plan-level analysis.
The report evaluates performance both at the individual fund-level, as well as the overall plan level.
The report considers several methods for determining if a fund outperforms its assigned index during a calendar year.
● Table 1 reports the number of the total population and the sample of each fund size category.
● Table 2 reports the mean ratio of funds in plans that outperformed their benchmark.
● Table 3 reports the percentage of plans in general and in each size category that outperformed their benchmark.
The performance measures five panels of analysis for both the fund level and the plan level. The panels include higher expected return, lower risk (standard deviation), higher Sharpe ratio, lower downside risk, and higher Sortino ratio.
Download last years report which covers:
Download last years report which covers:
Access the 2021 research update, released in 2024.
Access the 2020 research update, released in 2023.
Access the 2019 research update, released in 2022.
Access the 2018 research update, released in 2021.
Access the 2016 and 2017 research update, released in 2020.
*Credentials as of original publication date
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