Active Funds Lagged Benchmarks in Q105

April 12, 2005 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Actively managed mid- and small-cap mutual funds lagged their relative S&P benchmarks during the first quarter of 2005, Standard & Poor's reported.

A S&P news release said that according to the Standard & Poor’s Indices Versus Active Funds Scorecard (SPIVA), the S&P MidCap 400 outperformed 67.3% of mid-cap funds, while the S&P SmallCap 600 edged out 71.1% of small-cap offerings over the first three months of 2005. In the large-cap arena, the picture was a virtual tie, with the S&P 500 outperforming 50.1% of large cap funds during the first quarter.

Drilling down, growth and value funds have shown differing fortunes during the first three months of the year. While a convincing majority of large-cap, mid-cap and small-cap growth funds underperformed the S&P/Barra Growth indices, their value counterparts outperformed the S&P/Barra Value indices.

Longer-term results continue to be consistent with past results. Over the past three years, the S&P 500 has outperformed 67.7% of large-cap funds, the S&P MidCap 400 has outperformed 76.1% of mid-cap funds, and the S&P SmallCap 600 has pushed aside 76.2% of small-cap funds. Similarly, over the past five years, the S&P 500 has beaten 61.3% of large-cap funds, the S&P MidCap 400 has outperformed 80.9% of mid-cap funds, and the S&P SmallCap 600 has outpaced 73.7% of small-cap funds.

More information is at  www.spiva.standardandpoors.com .

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