Financial report context:
for securities that are quoted in active markets , the trustee/ custodian determines fair value by applying securities 2019 prices obtained from its pricing vendors . for commingled funds that are not actively traded , the trustee applies pricing information provided by investment management firms to the unit quanti- ties of such funds . investment management firms employ their own pricing vendors to value the securities underlying each commingled fund . underlying securities that are not actively traded derive their prices from investment managers , which in turn , employ vendors that use pricing models ( e.g. , discounted cash flow , comparables ) . the domestic defined benefit plans have no investment in our stock , except through the s&p 500 commingled trust index fund . the trustee obtains estimated prices from vendors for secu- rities that are not easily quotable and they are categorized accordingly as level 3 . the following table details further information on our plan assets where we have used significant unobservable inputs ( level 3 ) : .

Financial table:
( in millions ): balance as of december 31 2016; level 3: $ 11
( in millions ): purchases; level 3: 28
( in millions ): distributions; level 3: -1 ( 1 )
( in millions ): gain ( loss ); level 3: 1
( in millions ): balance as of december 31 2017; level 3: $ 39

Additional report context:
pension trusts 2019 asset allocations there are two pension trusts , one in the u.s . and one in the u.k . the u.s . pension trust had assets of $ 1739 a0 million and $ 1632 a0million as of december a031 , 2017 and 2016 respectively , and the target allocations in 2017 include 68% ( 68 % ) fixed income , 27% ( 27 % ) domestic equities and 5% ( 5 % ) international equities . the u.k . pension trust had assets of $ 480 a0 million and $ 441 a0 million as of december a0 31 , 2017 and 2016 , respec- tively , and the target allocations in 2017 include 40% ( 40 % ) fixed income , 30% ( 30 % ) diversified growth funds , 20% ( 20 % ) equities and 10% ( 10 % ) real estate . the pension assets are invested with the goal of producing a combination of capital growth , income and a liability hedge . the mix of assets is established after consideration of the long- term performance and risk characteristics of asset classes . investments are selected based on their potential to enhance returns , preserve capital and reduce overall volatility . holdings are diversified within each asset class . the portfolios employ a mix of index and actively managed equity strategies by market capitalization , style , geographic regions and economic sec- tors . the fixed income strategies include u.s . long duration securities , opportunistic fixed income securities and u.k . debt instruments . the short-term portfolio , whose primary goal is capital preservation for liquidity purposes , is composed of gov- ernment and government- agency securities , uninvested cash , receivables and payables . the portfolios do not employ any financial leverage . u.s . defined contribution plans assets of the defined contribution plans in the u.s . consist pri- marily of investment options which include actively managed equity , indexed equity , actively managed equity/bond funds , target date funds , s&p global inc . common stock , stable value and money market strategies . there is also a self- directed mutual fund investment option . the plans purchased 228248 shares and sold 297750 shares of s&p global inc . common stock in 2017 and purchased 216035 shares and sold 437283 shares of s&p global inc . common stock in 2016 . the plans held approximately 1.5 a0million shares of s&p global inc . com- mon stock as of december a031 , 2017 and 1.6 a0million shares as of december a031 , 2016 , with market values of $ 255 a0million and $ 171 a0million , respectively . the plans received dividends on s&p global inc . common stock of $ 3 a0million and $ 2 a0million during the years ended december a031 , 2017 and december a031 , 2016 respectively . 8 . stock-based compensation we issue stock-based incentive awards to our eligible employ- ees and directors under the 2002 employee stock incentive plan and a director deferred stock ownership plan . 2002 employee stock incentive plan ( the 201c2002 plan 201d ) 2014 the 2002 plan permits the granting of nonquali- fied stock options , stock appreciation rights , performance stock , restricted stock and other stock-based awards . director deferred stock ownership plan 2014 under this plan , common stock reserved may be credited to deferred stock accounts for eligible directors . in general , the plan requires that 50% ( 50 % ) of eligible directors 2019 annual com- pensation plus dividend equivalents be credited to deferred stock accounts . each director may also elect to defer all or a portion of the remaining compensation and have an equiva- lent number of shares credited to the deferred stock account . recipients under this plan are not required to provide con- sideration to us other than rendering service . shares will be delivered as of the date a recipient ceases to be a member of the board of directors or within five years thereafter , if so elected . the plan will remain in effect until terminated by the board of directors or until no shares of stock remain avail- able under the plan . s&p global 2017 annual report 71 .

Question: as part of plan assets what was the percent of the purchases on the total account balance
Answer: 71.8%