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The average 401(k) account balance across all participant accounts finished at $335,857 for the first quarter of 2025, down 4.7% from the fourth quarter of 2024 and up 2.3% year-over-year, according to Charles Schwab’s Self-Directed Brokerage Account Indicators Q1 report, an industry-leading benchmark on retirement plan participant investment activity within self-directed brokerage accounts (SDBAs).

SDBAs are brokerage accounts within workplace retirement plans, including 401(k)s and other types of retirement plans, that participants can use to invest retirement savings in individual stocks and bonds, as well as exchange-traded funds (ETFs), mutual funds and other securities that are not part of their retirement plan's core investment offerings.

The SDBA Indicators Report includes data collected from approximately 308,000 retirement plan participants who currently have balances between $5,000 and $10 million in their Schwab Personal Choice Retirement Account.

Macroeconomic uncertainty and increased volatility dampened equity markets and sentiment in the first quarter, according to the report.

Most advised accounts belong to Gen X (52.3%) participants, followed by millennials (24.4%) and baby boomers (21.5%). The average participant balance for advised accounts is $525,213, down from $537,037 last quarter. Non-advised accounts were also lower than last quarter at $293,605, down from $311,627.
Baby boomers ended Q1 with the largest average account balance of $560,250 (down from $579,278 last quarter), followed by Gen X with $343,831 and millennials with $124,381.

All three generations had similar equity holdings, with Apple, Tesla, Amazon, Nvidia Corp., and Microsoft coming in at the top. Apple is a favorite among baby boomers, NVIDIA holds the top spot for Gen X and Tesla is the largest equity holding for millennials.

Related: Rethinking the 60/40 portfolio to improve DC plan outcomes: Are managed accounts the next step?

"SDBAs provide a much wider range of investments than core 401(k) menus, offering plan sponsors and advisors a solution to meet the needs of participants who want more control and choice when it comes to their investments," said Mike Ponce, managing director, Schwab Retirement Business Services. "However, participants may not be aware of the scale of the offerings in SDBAs."

Overall, participant holdings in Q1 were similar to the fourth quarter of last year:

  • Equities continued to hold the majority of assets at 33.4%. Apple (9.7%) and Nvidia (9.3%) remained the top two holdings, while Tesla (6.0%), Amazon (4.7%) and Microsoft (3.2%) continued to round out the top five.
  • Mutual funds remained the second largest holding at 27.3%, with the largest allocation going to large-cap stock funds at 33.2%, followed by money market funds (18.3%) and taxable bond funds (15.2%).
  • ETFs held 27.0% of participant assets. Investors allocated the most dollars to US equity (50.7%), followed by US fixed income (13.9%) and international equity (11.6%).
  • Cash and equivalents held 8.0% of participant assets while 4.3% of assets were held in fixed income.

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