SANTA MONICA, Calif., Nov. 6, 2012 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Solid equity and active bond performance made for a strong third quarter for all institutional plan types above the lower 5th percentile showing positive returns, according to the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service® (Wilshire TUCS®), a cooperative effort between Wilshire Analytics, the investment technology unit of Wilshire Associates Incorporated (Wilshire®), and custodial organizations. Wilshire TUCS, the most widely accepted benchmark for the performance and allocation of institutional assets, includes more than 1,500 plans representing in excess of $2.90 trillion in assets.
The third quarter performance spread for median plan returns types was a narrow 0.18 percent except for the low outlier of the conservative Taft Hartley Health and Welfare Funds with a 3.60 percent median return. Public Plans narrowly took top billing for the quarter with a median return of 4.67 percent beating Taft Hartley Defined Benefit Plans' and Corporate Funds' 4.62 and 4.61 percent median returns, respectively.
"Powered by a 29.89 percent 12-month return by the equity market as represented by the Wilshire 5000 Total Market IndexSM, all plan types achieved double digit median returns for the year ending September 30," Robert J. Waid, managing director, Wilshire Associates said. "An impressive median return of 17.52 percent by Corporate Plans with Assets Greater than $1 billion topped the list with Taft Hartley Health and Welfare Funds bringing up the rear with a median performance of 12.04 percent for the 12-month period," he added.
"Most of the plan categories had a better third quarter than the 4.32 percent achieved by the classic 60/40 asset allocation model," noted Waid. "The outperformance can be attributed to the active bond manager outperformance with median and average U.S. bond performance of 2.57 and 2.67 percent, respectively, return versus the benchmark return of 1.58 percent. However, the one-year active bond manager outperformance of 8.45 and 8.70 percent median and mean return, respectively, versus the benchmark of 5.16 percent had median plan returns underperform the classic 60/40 asset allocation return of 20.00 percent."
For more information about the Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service, please e-mail TUCS@wilshire.com.
About Wilshire Associates
Wilshire Associates, a leading global, independent investment consulting and services firm, provides consulting services, analytics solutions and customized investment products to plan sponsors, investment managers and financial intermediaries. Its business units include, Wilshire Analytics, Wilshire Consulting, Wilshire Funds Management and Wilshire Private Markets.
The firm was founded in 1972, revolutionizing the industry by pioneering the application of investment analytics and research to investment management for the institutional marketplace.
Wilshire also is credited with helping to develop the field of quantitative investment analysis that uses mathematical tools to analyze market risks. All other business units evolved from Wilshire's strong analytics foundation. Wilshire developed the Wilshire 5000 Total Market IndexSM and became an early innovator in creating the industry's integrated asset/liability analysis/simulation models as well as the industry's practical models in risk budgeting through beta and active risk analysis. Wilshire has grown to a firm of more than 300 employees serving the investment needs of institutional clients around the world.
Based in Santa Monica, California, Wilshire provides services to clients in more than 20 countries representing more than 500 organizations. With ten offices on four continents, Wilshire Associates and its affiliates are dedicated to providing clients with the highest quality counsel, products and services. Wilshire®, Wilshire Trust Universe Comparison Service® and Wilshire TUCS® are registered service marks of Wilshire Associates Incorporated. Wilshire 5000 Total Market IndexSM is a service mark of Wilshire Associates Incorporated. Please visit http://www.wilshire.com/.