The typical 401(k) participant still faces a menu with nearly 18 investment options. Increasingly that participant is sticking with one, raising questions about what a good menu should look like.
In Vanguard record-kept defined contribution plans, 66% of participants used a single fund in 2025, up from 55% in 2016, according to an August report by the company. The average participant used 2.2 investment options, down from 2.7 a decade ago. At the same time, the average plan offered 17.7 options in 2025, counting a target-date series as one option, only modestly below 18.9 options in 2011.
Jania Stout, president of retirement and wellness at Prime Capital Financial, said automatic enrollment has effectively separated many workforces into participants who let the default do the work and participants who actively choose investments. For the latter group, she said, a broader lineup can still be appropriate, but the menu needs guardrails.
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