Weak returns for US pension plans in Q2

Weak returns for US pension plans in Q2

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US institutional assets tracked by Wilshire Associates saw soft returns in the second quarter.

Data on close to $3.6trn in assets under management across 1,300 plans shows a median return of 1.89% for all plan types in the second quarter and a one-year gain of 0.91%.

Corporate, public, foundations and college endowments are all tracked by Wilshire’s Trust Universe Comparison Service – the benchmark for the performance of institutional assets in North America.

“Though all plan-type categories had positive quarterly median returns, most categories experienced only small positive median returns for the year,” said Robert  Waid, managing director, Wilshire Associates.

It was the fourth quarter in a row where the 60/40 portfolio (60% stocks and 40% bonds) beat the median plan return.

Larger corporate funds outperformed their smaller peers, while smaller public funds, foundations and endowments beat their larger counterparts on both a quarterly and annual basis.

A significant exposure to alternatives hasn’t helped the larger funds over the past year.

All plan-types with assets greater than $1bn had median returns of 2.02% in the second quarter and 1.51% for the year, compared to plans with assets less than $1bn which had median returns of 1.85% in the second quarter and 0.73% for the year.

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