The number of defined contribution participants who engage in stock trading has fallen by half in the last 10 years to 10 percent in 2013 from 20 percent in 2004, according to a new report from Vanguard

And, that is a good thing, the investment company asserts, as active traders fare poorer with their retirement accounts than passive investors do.

Vanguard expects trading will continue to diminish as the ratio of retirement plan participants with professionally managed allocations (most notably target-date funds) continues to surge.

The report suggests the recession may have scared away many workers from playing in the stock market, with 71 percent of plan participants conducting no trades in their workplace retirement accounts in the 2009 to 2013 aftermath of the decline in the economy.