Strong Equity Performance Propels Q3 Returns for BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe

NEW YORK, Nov. 13, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- The median return of the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe was 4.66% for the third quarter of 2012, driving up performance for the typical fund to 10.45% on a year-to-date basis.  Given the strong quarter, the median plan climbed 15.97% over the twelve months ending September 30, 2012.

With a market value of more than $2.2 trillion and an average plan size of $3.3 billion, the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe is a fund-level tracking service that can be used to make peer comparisons of both performance and asset allocation results.  The Universe consists of more than 680 corporate, foundation, endowment, public, Taft-Hartley and health care plans.

"The third quarter rewarded investors who assumed additional risk," said John Houser, vice president and manager of performance & risk analytics for BNY Mellon.  "Markets responded to moves by both the Fed's QE3 promise and European Central Bank's commitment to preserve the euro.  Bond markets posted respectable returns in the quarter as global concerns continued to push demand for lower risk bonds.

"All asset classes were positive in Q3 but equities drove returns, with international equity setting the high water mark at 7.32% and U.S. equities up 6.19% for the period.  Over the full year, U.S. equities have significantly outperformed bonds with a 29.24% median return," Houser added.

Highlights

• 99% of plans in the BNY Mellon Master Trust universe returned positive results during the quarter.  Over the prior 12-month period, 99% (649 out of 650) of plans were in the black.
• 55% of plans matched or outperformed the custom policy return for Q3.  For the full year, 23% of plans outperformed the custom policy.
• Corporate plans recorded the highest median return (+4.94%) for the quarter, followed closely by Public Plans (+4.80). The difference between the best performing and lowest performing plan type (Endowments) was only 0.77 percentage points.
• Non-U.S. equities posted a quarterly median return of 7.32%, behind the Russell Developed ex US Large Cap Index result of 7.76%. U.S. equities posted a median return of 6.19%, versus the Russell 300o Index return of 6.23%.  Non-U.S. fixed income posted a median return of 4.64%, compared to the Citigroup Non-U.S. World Government Bond Index return of 3.98%.  U.S. fixed income had a median return of 2.65%, versus the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index return of 1.59%.  Real estate posted a median return of 2.40%, versus the NCREIF Property Index result of 2.34%. 

The average asset allocation in the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe for the third quarter was: U.S. equity 28%, U.S. fixed income 28%, non-U.S. equity 15%, non-U.S. fixed income 2%, real estate 2%, cash 1%, and alternatives/other 24%.

BNY Mellon Asset Servicing offers clients worldwide a broad spectrum of specialized asset servicing capabilities, including custody and fund services, securities lending, performance and analytics, and execution services. BNY Mellon Asset Servicing provides services through BNY Mellon and other related companies.

BNY Mellon (NYSE: BK) is a global financial services company focused on helping clients manage and service their financial assets, operating in 36 countries and serving more than 100 markets. BNY Mellon is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth individuals, offering superior investment management and investment services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $27.9 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.4 trillion in assets under management, services $11.6 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.4 trillion per day. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation. Learn more at www.bnymellon.com or follow us on Twitter@BNYMellon.

Russell 3000 Index and Russell Developed ex US Large Cap Index:  Russell Investment Group ("Russell") is the source and owner of the Russell Index data contained or reflected in this material and all trademarks and copyrights related thereto.  The Russell Index data may contain confidential information and unauthorized use, disclosure, copying, dissemination or redistribution is strictly prohibited. Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index: © Barclays Bank PLC 2012.  This data is provided by Barclays Bank PLC all rights are reserved.

Citigroup Non-US World Government Bond Index: © Citigroup Global Markets Inc., 2012. All rights reserved.

SOURCE BNY Mellon

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