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Contact:
Charles Salmans
Tel:
+1
212
345 4512
United States
New York,
5 May 2008
Mercer’s first-quarter 2008 Defined Contribution Universe Summary found losses in all equity markets during the period. The quarterly report analyzes returns of various funds and helps institutional investors evaluate their mutual fund managers’ performance against other funds and asset class benchmarks.
The S&P 500® Index lost 9.4 percent. The fixed income asset class turned in a positive quarter, with the Lehman Aggregate Bond Index posting a 2.2 percent gain.
Money market instruments rose 0.7 percent, as measured by the three-month T-bill rate. The balanced asset class, using a benchmark of 60 percent S&P 500/40 percent Lehman Aggregate Bond Indices, posted a loss of 4.9 percent. International equity markets, as measured by the MSCI EAFE® Index, lost 8.9 percent during the first quarter.
The international equity asset class outperformed US equities for the quarter by 50 basis points. Global equities lost 9.1 percent for the quarter and underperformed international equities by 20 basis points.
Capital market returns remained positive over the long term. However, over a 10-year time frame, the S&P 500 Index only returned 3.5 percent, while the Russell 2000® Index returned 5.0 percent. International equity markets produced a gain of 6.2 percent over a 10-year time frame, outperforming their US counterparts. Over a 10-year period, the fixed income asset class produced a return of 6.0 percent, above US equity returns (as measured by the S&P 500 Index) over the same time period.
Mutual fund performance
During the first quarter, value funds outperformed
growth funds, as the median large cap value fund posted a loss of 9.1 percent
compared to a loss of 11.6 percent for the median large cap growth fund. The
small cap segment of the market trended in the same direction as large cap
stocks, as the median small cap value fund outperformed the median growth cap
value fund by 700 basis points.
The median large cap fund underperformed the S&P 500 Index by 10 basis points for the first quarter. Small cap funds slightly underperformed their large cap counterparts for the quarter, as the median small cap fund lost 9.6 percent for the quarter versus a loss of 9.5 percent for the median large cap fund.
Within the international equity asset class, the median manager slightly underperformed the MSCI EAFE Index by 20 basis points during the quarter. The median emerging markets manager lost 11.3 percent for the quarter and underperformed the MSCI Emerging Markets Free Index by 40 basis points.
The median core fixed income fund underperformed the Lehman Brothers Aggregate index for the first quarter by 120 basis points.
About the survey
The Defined Contribution
Universe Summary is published quarterly by Mercer. The survey is intended
to provide marketplace participants with summarized performance data for the
most recent quarter and historical periods. Fund performance data are provided
at the asset class and sub-asset class level. Fund universes are courtesy of
Manager Performance Analytics (MPA), Mercer’s proprietary manager database,
using return data from Morningstar®, Inc.
The Defined Contribution Universe Summary may be downloaded free of charge by clicking the link at the top of this page.
Please note: All performance is measured in US dollars, after investment management fees are deducted.
About Mercer
Mercer is a leading global provider of consulting,
outsourcing and investment services. Mercer works with clients to solve their
most complex benefit and human capital issues, designing and helping manage
health, retirement and other benefits. It is a leader in benefit outsourcing.
Mercer’s investment services include investment consulting and multi-manager
investment management. Mercer’s 18,000 employees are based in more than 40
countries. The company is a wholly owned subsidiary of Marsh & McLennan
Companies, Inc., which lists its stock (ticker symbol: MMC) on the New York,
Chicago and London stock exchanges.
For more information, visit www.mercer.com.
Press office contact |
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Charles Salmans
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+1 212 345 4512 
E-mail press
team|
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