ICC Universe Shows Median Plan Loss of 5.1% in Q109

May 5, 2009 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The median master trust in the ICC Universe lost 5.1% in the first quarter, according to the Independent Consultants Cooperative (ICC), a consortium of independent investment consulting firms that collectively consults to 10% of the institutional assets in the United States.

The median master trust fell 24.6% in the year ended March 31, 2009, as the effects of the fourth quarter continued to impact the longer term results, ICC said in a press release (see Median ICC Master Trust Down 24% in 2008 ). Endowments & Foundations lost the least – the median fund lost 4.7% in the first quarter – while Public Funds and Corporates dropped 5.7% and 5.6%, respectively.

Over the last 12 months, the median Corporate plan fell 24.5%, which was 100 basis points better than Endowments & Foundations, while Public Funds experienced the greatest losses, dropping 25.9%.

In the first quarter, International Emerging Market Equity funds performed best: the median fund was down only 1.6%, according to the press release. International Developed Equity Market funds fared worst, falling 13.1%. The median U.S. Equity fund lost 10.3%, while Global Equity funds fell 11.1%.

International Emerging Bond funds fared best in the first quarter, as the median fund rose 2.8%, and the median U.S. Bond fund also ended up in positive territory, earning 0.6% in the quarter. International Developed Market Bond funds lost most in the quarter – down 3%, while Global Bond funds dropped 2.6%.

Small capitalization funds experienced the greatest losses within each style. Within each size band, growth funds experienced the smallest declines while value-oriented funds lost the most ground, ICC said.

Representative Master Trust Universes:
Median Performance as of March 31, 2009
     
1 Quarter1 Year3 Years5 Years
 
Corporate-5.6-24.5-5.70.3
Endowments & Foundations-4.7-25.5-6.00.0
Public Funds-5.7-25.9-6.40.0
Taft Hartley-5.3-25.7-6.4-0.3

class="bwcellparagraphmargin"> Representative Actively-Managed Universes

Median Performance as of March 31, 2009
    
Equity Style1 Quarter1 Year
 
Large Cap Value-14.0-41.1
Large Cap Core-10.9-37.5
Large Cap Growth-4.7-34.5
Mid Cap Value-11.1-37.8
Mid Cap Core-7.6-35.2
Mid Cap Growth-5.0-37.1
Small Cap Value-15.3-37.9
Small Cap Core-14.1-36.9
Small Cap Growth-8.0-36.3

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