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Investing January 23, 2008
Most Plan Sponsors Ended 2007 with Modest Advances
January 23, 2008 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The latest
year-end data from Northern Trust indicates that most U.S.
institutional investment plan sponsors reported modest
returns for the year ending December 31, 2007, following a
difficult fourth quarter.
Reported by Fred Schneyer
A Northern Trust news release said corporate and public plans in its Northern Trust Universe posted median returns of -0.6% and -0.7% for the fourth quarter, respectively, while foundation and endowments led the way with a quarterly median return of -0.2%.
On a year-end basis as of December 31, corporate
and public fund plans returned a median 8.4% and 8.5%,
respectively, the Northern Trust data showed.
Foundations and endowments posted a yearly median
gain of 9.4%.
The Northern Trust Emerging Markets manager universe was
the best performer over a one-year time period, posting a
median return for the year of 36.7%.
According to the announcement, plans with large allocations to small cap U.S. equity paid the price this year as the Northern Trust Small Cap manager universe posted a scant gain of 0.3%, which outpaced the Russell 2000 one-year return of -1.6%.
The Northern Trust Universe represents the performance results of more than 300 large institutional investment plans, with a combined asset value of approximately $700 billion, which subscribe to Northern Trust performance measurement services.
More information is at http://www.northerntrust.com .