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In the United States, individual investors most commonly put money in equity mutual funds: 80% of households that owned mutual funds reported holding them in 2024. Equity funds also accounted for 56% of household mutual-fund assets at the end of that year. That does not mean there is one fund chosen by everyone. Households often own several fund categories, usually through workplace retirement plans, and select funds according to risk, time horizon, diversification and cost.
The figures below describe what U.S. households reported owning, not what any investor should buy. They come from the Investment Company Institute’s 2024 household survey, which covered 9,011 probability-based households.
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What type of mutual fund is most popular?
Equity mutual funds are the most widely owned category among U.S. mutual-fund-owning households. In 2024, 80% reported owning an equity fund. The same survey found that equity funds made up 56% of household mutual-fund assets: 45% was in domestic-equity funds and 11% in world-equity funds.
Ownership percentages overlap because households could select more than one category. They therefore show how many households had each type, not a market-share ranking that can be added to 100%.
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Ownership by fund category
| Mutual-fund category | Share of U.S. mutual-fund-owning households (2024) |
|---|---|
| Equity funds | 80% |
| Money-market funds | 53% |
| Equity-index funds | 48% |
| Balanced funds | 35% |
| Bond funds | 35% |
| Global or international equity funds | 30% |
| ESG funds | 4% |
Asset allocations tell a similar story, although they measure dollars rather than the number of households. At year-end 2024, domestic-equity funds represented 45% of household mutual-fund assets, world-equity funds 11%, bond funds 19%, money-market funds 19% and balanced funds 6%.
Do people mostly invest in equity or bond mutual funds?
By both household ownership and assets, equity funds are more prominent than bond funds. Eighty percent of mutual-fund-owning households held equity funds, compared with 35% holding bond funds. Equity funds represented 56% of household mutual-fund assets, while bond funds represented 19%.
That comparison describes the aggregate U.S. pattern, not an appropriate allocation for every person. Equity funds can offer long-term growth but fluctuate in value; bond and money-market funds may play different roles for income, stability or shorter-term needs. A household’s mix depends on its goal, time horizon and ability to tolerate losses.
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Why are individual investors putting money into mutual funds?
Retirement saving is the dominant reason households gave for owning mutual funds. In 2024, 87% cited retirement as a financial goal and 80% identified it as their primary goal. Other goals can coexist, which helps explain why one household may hold several categories.
Overall ownership was substantial: 71.0 million U.S. households, or 53.7% of all households, owned mutual funds in 2024. That represented an estimated 121.6 million individual investors. ICI Senior Director of Retirement and Investor Research Sarah Holden described mutual funds as a long-standing product helping Americans save for retirement and other long-term goals.
Where do ordinary investors hold and buy mutual funds?
Employer-sponsored retirement plans are the main access point. Among mutual-fund-owning households, 73% held funds through an employer plan such as a 401(k), 403(b) or 457 plan in 2024. Seventy-one percent also held funds outside an employer plan, so these channels overlap.
How purchases outside workplace plans are made
| Purchase channel | Share of mutual-fund-owning households using it |
|---|---|
| Investment professional | 48% |
| Direct market channel, such as a fund company or discount broker | 27% |
The investment-professional category included registered investment advisers, full-service brokers, independent financial planners, bank representatives, insurance agents and accountants. The direct channel covered purchases made directly from fund companies or through discount brokers. The survey figures are household reports and are not exclusive; a household can use both channels.
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How should I compare mutual-fund choices?
Start with the fund’s purpose and the role it would play in your portfolio, then check risk, diversification, benchmark and total cost. These are also the factors households say they examine most often.
- Define the objective. Decide whether the money is for retirement, a near-term expense, income or another goal. Match the fund’s stated objective to that purpose.
- Check risk and time horizon. A fund’s exposure to stocks, bonds, cash or a mixture affects how sharply its value may move. A longer horizon can change how much short-term volatility is tolerable, but it does not remove the possibility of loss.
- Assess diversification. Review whether the fund spreads holdings across companies, sectors, countries or security issuers. Two funds labeled “equity” can have very different concentrations.
- Compare performance with an appropriate index. Look at historical returns and how the fund performed relative to its stated benchmark over comparable periods. Past performance is information, not a promise.
- Calculate the total cost. Review the expense ratio and any sales charges, account fees or other expenses that apply in the purchasing account. Fees reduce the return that reaches you.
- Confirm access and tax setting. Check whether the fund is available in your 401(k), IRA or taxable account and whether the account’s rules affect contributions, withdrawals or taxes.
What investors say they review
| Information considered | Share of households |
|---|---|
| Risk level | 96% |
| Historical performance | 95% |
| Performance versus an index | 94% |
| Investment objective | 93% |
| Fees and expenses | More than 90% |
Half of households called fees and expenses “very important.” The cost data also suggest that assets tend to be concentrated in lower-cost funds: the 2024 asset-weighted average expense ratio for equity mutual funds was 0.40%, compared with a 1.10% simple industry average. The asset-weighted figure reflects where investor dollars were, while the simple average gives each fund equal weight, so they answer different questions.
How reliable are these percentages?
The ICI survey used a probability-based KnowledgePanel sample of 9,011 households. For mutual-fund-owning households, its reported margin of sampling error was plus or minus 1.4 percentage points at a 95% confidence level. Category results are self-reported and allow multiple answers, so they should be read as estimates of household ownership rather than a census of every account or fund position.
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An official SEC household-capital-markets page uses the Federal Reserve’s triennial Survey of Consumer Finances, whose latest available data are from 2022. That series found 3.68 million households, or 2.8%, with money-market mutual-fund holdings. It is not directly comparable with the ICI result because it is a narrower measure of money-market holdings and includes direct and indirect positions.
Independent reader supportYour contribution helps us test, update, and keep practical guides available for everyone.Frequently Asked Questions
Can one household own more than one mutual-fund category?
Yes. The ownership survey allowed multiple responses, so a household could report equity, money-market, bond and other funds at the same time. That is why the category percentages add to more than 100%.
Does the 0.40% equity-fund expense ratio apply to every fund?
No. It is the 2024 asset-weighted average for equity mutual funds, meaning funds with more investor assets have more influence on the average. Individual funds can be cheaper or more expensive, and other charges may apply.
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Are these figures a list of the best mutual funds to buy?
No. They are descriptive U.S. household-ownership statistics, not recommendations or a ranking of fund tickers. A suitable choice still depends on your objective, risk capacity, account and costs.
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Scan for outdated or missing drivers - takes under a minuteDriver Scan →Clear out junk files and repair common Windows errorsFree Scan →Is the workplace-plan percentage the share of all U.S. households?
No. The 73% figure is limited to households that owned mutual funds. It measures how those owning households accessed funds, not how many households nationwide participated in an employer plan.
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