401(k)s show drop in stock exposure

For the first time in over a decade, American workers held less than half of their 401(k) money in stocks, according to findings from Hewitt Associates in February.

“Instead, most of their nest eggs now sit in fixed-income and cash instruments, including stable-value, bond and money market funds, according to Hewitt, the employee benefits consulting firm. The proportion of 401(k) money in stocks fell to slightly less than 48 percent in February, down from 53 percent at the start of the year and 69 percent in 2007,” reports the New York Times.