WILSHIRE TRUST UNIVERSE COMPARISON SERVICE®
REPORTS INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS' PERFORMANCE IMPROVES,
BUT STILL IN NEGATIVE TERRITORY FOR FIRST QUARTER OF 2009
Foundations and Endowments Lead with Returns of Large Corporate Plans Lagging
SANTA MONICA, Calif., May 7, 2009 - While the performance of institutional investors'
portfolios improved during the first quarter of 2009, all categories were all still in
negative territory with corporate plans with assets of more than $1 billion suffering the
worst median performance at a -7.09 percent for the quarter. The one-year median rate of
return for these same plans was -25.45 percent, according to the Wilshire Trust Universe
Comparison Service® (Wilshire TUCS ®), a cooperative effort between Wilshire Analytics, the
investment technology unit of Wilshire Associates, and custodial organizations. Wilshire TUCS,
the most widely accepted benchmark for the performance of institutional assets, includes
nearly 1,200 plans representing $2.43 trillion in assets.
Foundations and endowments saw the best median quarterly returns at -4.78 percent with an
annual return of -25.71. The median performance of all master trusts for the year ended
March 31, 2009 was -24.71 percent with a quarterly return of -5.53 percent. The median
performance of corporate pension plans was -26.00 percent for the year and -6.31 percent
for the quarter while public pension funds median performance was -25.93 percent for the
year and -5.92 percent for the first quarter. The quarterly median return for Taft Hartley
funds was -5.14 percent with the one-year at -22.66 percent.
The quarterly median rates of return for all master trusts and public pension plans with
assets greater than $5 billion were identical at -6.57 percent with those same public plans
reporting median one-year performance of -27.55 percent and all master trusts doing somewhat
better with a median annual return of -27.20 percent.
"The U.S. stock market posted a disappointing -10.56 percent return in the first quarter of
2009, its sixth consecutive down-quarter and the longest such streak in the 28-year history
of the Wilshire 5000SM Index, noted Hilarie C. Green, CFA, managing director and head of
Wilshire Analytics' Performance Reporting division. "However, the news wasn't all bad
during the quarter, as U.S. stocks advanced 8.70 percent in March, which was the Wilshire
5000's largest monthly return since Dec 1991. From its low on March 9, the market rallied
an impressive 18.45 percent to close the quarter. Had it not been for this upswing, the
Wilshire TUCS numbers we are reporting today would have dipped further into negative territory."
Green noted that according to the Wilshire TUCS Equity Style Analysis, small cap value stocks had the worst performance
for the first quarter of 2009 with a median total return of -15.19 percent.
"The best performance came from mid cap growth managers which reported a median rate of return of -4.39 percent followed
by large growth managers with a -4.84 percent median performance," Green stated. "Overall, the equity managers represented
in Wilshire TUCS had a quarterly median rate of return of -9.92 percent and an annual median performance of -37.24 percent.
For the year, although the median rate of return was a dismal -34.02 percent, large growth had the best showing while mid
cap value had the worst at -40.50 percent," she added.
Click here for this quarter's Wilshire TUCS
® Universe median rates of return and median asset allocation.
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,
the first asset/liability models for pension funds, the first U.S. equity style metrics work and many other "firsts" as the firm
grew to approximately 350 employees serving the investment needs of institutional and high net worth clients around the world.
Based in Santa Monica, California, Wilshire provides services to clients in more than 20 countries representing approximately
600 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 Trust Universe Comparison Service®
and Wilshire TUCS® are registered trademarks of Wilshire Associates Incorporated. Wilshire is a
registered service mark of Wilshire Associates Incorporated. Please visit www.wilshire.com for more information.
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