The MarketsOctober 26, 2010

Plans up 8% in Q310

The median return of the State Street Universe (SSU) of total plans rose 8% in the third quarter of 2010, following the 4.4%-loss in the prior quarter, State Street announced.

Reported by Fred Schneyer

For the twelve month period ending September 30, 2010, the universe returned 10.1%, according to the State Street data.

In the third quarter, master trust funds of greater than $1 billion returned 8.2%, slightly higher than smaller Master Trust Funds, which returned 8%. Corporate Plans were up 10.7%, with the highest returns for the year ending September 30, 2010, while Taft Hartley Plans gained 10.2%. For the quarter, plan results ranged from 8% (Endowments & Foundations) to 8.7% (Corporate Plans).

According to State Street, equity funds rebounded strongly in the third quarter, more than offsetting second quarter losses. International Emerging Market Equity Funds rose 19.1% in the third quarter, while U.S. Equity Funds gained 11.3%. International Development Market Equity rose 16.2% and Global Equity Funds rose 14.5%.

For the twelve-month period ending September 30, 2010, International Emerging Equity Funds again had the highest returns, rising 20.2%, while International Developed Market Equity Funds had the smallest gains, rising 5.8%. U.S. Equity Funds rose 11.8% and Global Equity Funds rose 9%.

Fixed Income Funds performed well over the last 12 months, with both U.S. Fixed Income Funds and Global Fixed Income Funds up 10.2%. In the third quarter, Global Fixed Income Funds gained 7.5% while U.S. Fixed Income Funds rose 3.1%.

The SSU consists of funds custodied at State Street and funds provided by the Independent Consultants Cooperative (ICC). It consists of approximately 1,100 total plans of a range of plan sponsors and the nearly 20,000 individual funds that comprise each plan. The combined asset value of the portfolios in the SSU exceeded $1.8 trillion as of September 30, 2010.