Public Retirement Research Lab A collaborative effort of EBRI and NAGDCA Gender and Age Differences in Equity Asset Allocation Are Mitigated by the Use of Target -Date Funds For account holders with no Proportion of Allocation in Equity target-date fund (TDF) exposure, by Age, Gender, and Presence of TDFs the proportion of equity is much greater for males than 100% No TDF Allocation Some TDF Allocation females, especially at the younger ages. For those with 89% some TDF allocation there Male Male is very little gender impact, with all differences in total 48% Female equity proportions being less Female 38% 47% than 2 percentage points. 36% 28% 12% Age group 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70+ 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70+ Gender differences in asset Differences in Asset Allocations by Age and Gender allocation were evident for those without target-date fund holdings. Short-Term Fixed Income Females with no TDFs in their Younger +16.3% No TDF Allocation Some TDF Allocation portfolio tend to invest more in females with fixed income than their male no TDF holdings are 16% more counterparts. In contrast, males invested than with no TDFs tend to invest much males in the same asset class more in broad international equity. +0.5% 0.0% –0.5% –1.0% For those with at least some Age group 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70+ 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70+ TDF exposure, differences in proportions are greatly reduced, demonstrating the equalizing Broad International Equity effect of target-date funds in DC plans. Males are more No TDF Allocation Some TDF Allocation +9.4% heavily invested in international equity than females +0.1% +0.4% +0.2% Age group 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70+ 20s 30s 40s 50s 60s 70+ SOURCE: Jack VanDerhei on behalf of PRRL, "A Deeper Look at Asset Allocation: Plan Structure and Demography the Key to Effective Plan Design, " PRRL Research Study, no. 3 (May 20, 2021) . © 2021 PRRL Ju ly 1, 2021 www.prrl.org