Endowments the top performing plan type for the quarter 2007 year-end
performance remains positive for fifth straight year
BOSTON, Feb. 11 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- The median plan for the 583
corporate, foundation, endowment, public, Taft-Hartley and healthcare funds
that make up the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe posted a combined -
0.55% return for the fourth quarter of 2007, the first negative quarterly
return since the second quarter of 2006. Despite the volatility, year-end
performance for the median plan was 8.28%, marking the fifth consecutive
year of positive returns.
The BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe represents a combined market
value of $1.8 trillion, with an average plan size of $3.0 billion.
"In contrast to the third quarter of 2007, the majority of plans posted
negative returns in the fourth quarter, with the best performing plan
posting nearly a 4.2% gain and the least returning -4.2%," said Greg
Stewart, first vice president and regional product manager of BNY Mellon
Asset Servicing. "For the full year, though, all plan members were in the
black, albeit with a dispersion of 21.8 percentage points between the
lowest and highest performers."
Highlights:
-- Of the plans in the universe 65% posted negative results with only 54%
matching or outperforming the universe's composite benchmark (Russell
3000(R)Index* 50%, Lehman Brothers(R) Aggregate 40%, MSCI(R) All
Country World Index ex US 10%), which returned -0.62% for the quarter.
-- U.S. Fixed Income led all asset classes for the quarter with a median
return of 2.65%, lagging the Lehman Brothers(R) Aggregate return of
3.00%. Non-U.S. Fixed Income generated a median result of 1.99%,
versus the Citigroup(R) Non-US Dollar World Government Bond Index
return of 3.91%. U.S. Equities returned -3.30%, compared to the
Russell 3000(R) Index return of -3.34%. Non-U.S. Equities -0.80%
result underperformed the MSCI(R) All Country World Index ex US return
of -0.62%.
-- Endowments were the top performing plan-type for the fourth quarter
with a 0.06% median return, followed by healthcare, foundations, Taft-
Hartley, corporate and public plans.
"Endowments and healthcare plans were able to post positive returns for
the quarter, and for the year-end period ending December 31, 2007,
endowments remain the strongest performing segment with the median plan
posting a return of 12.10%, over 350 basis points ahead of foundations, the
next best performing segment," said Stewart. "Endowments' lower allocation
to the U.S. equity market is one of the reasons for the relative
performance, along with their higher allocation to alternatives. Over the
extended periods, underweighting fixed income and greater allocations to
international equity and alternatives have helped endowments outperform
other plan types."
The average asset allocation in the U.S. Master Trust Universe for the
fourth quarter was: U.S. Equity 35%, U.S. Fixed Income 25%, Non-U.S. Equity
19%, Non-U.S. Fixed Income 1%, Alternative Investments 8%, Real Estate 3%,
Cash 1%, and Other (Private Equity, Oil, Gas, etc.) 8%.
BNY Mellon Asset Servicing offers clients worldwide a broad spectrum of
specialized asset servicing capabilities, including custody and fund
services, securities lending, performance and analytics, and execution
services. BNY Mellon Asset Servicing provides services through The Bank of
New York, Mellon Bank, N.A. and other related companies.
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK) is a global
financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service
their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100
markets. The company is a leading provider of financial services for
institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, providing
superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer
services, clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide
client-focused team. It has more than $20 trillion in assets under custody
and administration, more than $1.1 trillion in assets under management and
services $11 trillion in outstanding debt. Additional information is
available at bnymellon.com.
BNY Mellon Trust Universe Median Plan Returns
Period Ending December 31, 2007
Number of 4Q One- Five- Ten-
Universe Participants 2007 Year Years Years
Master Trust Total Fund 583 -0.55 8.28 12.87 7.80
Corporate Plans 257 -0.68 8.04 12.79 7.73
Foundations 86 -0.42 8.59 13.14 8.44
Endowments 94 0.06 12.10 14.75 8.65
Public Plans 65 -0.78 8.29 13.42 8.06
Taft-Hartley Plans 35 -0.54 6.78 10.20 7.21
Healthcare Plans 23 0.01 7.34 9.47 6.52
Universe Benchmark:
Russell 3000(R) Index 50%,
Lehman Brothers(R)
Aggregate 40%, MSCI(R) All
Country World Index ex
US, 10%) -0.62 6.79 10.85 6.78
*Russell Investment Group is the owner of the trademarks, service
marks, and copyrights related to its indexes.
SOURCE The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation
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Related links:
http://www.bnymellon.com
CONTACT:
Joseph F. Ailinger Jr. of Bank of New York
Mellon Corporation, +1-617-722-7571, joe.ailinger@bnymellon.com
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