FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT:
Kim Shepherd
773-252-9986
kshepherd.ext@wilshire.com
WILSHIRE TRUST UNIVERSE COMPARISON SERVICE®
SHOWS INSTITUTIONAL INVESTORS' PERFORMANCE
CONTINUES TO IMPROVE
Corporate Funds See Best Quarterly Median Gain at Nearly 11 Percent
Foundations and Endowments' -19.14 Percent is Worst Median Annual Performance
SANTA MONICA, Calif., August 10, 2009 - The performance of institutional investors'
portfolios continued to improve in the second quarter with median returns ranging from 7.55
percent for Taft Hartley funds to 10.93 percent for corporate plans. However, median
performance for the year ending June 30, 2009, lagged with all categories still in negative
territory. Taft Hartley plans had the best 12-month median performance at -16.08 percent
with the worst median performance of -19.14 percent notched by foundations and endowments,
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 more than 1,100 plans representing $2.04 trillion in assets.
All master trusts had a median quarterly return of 9.77 percent and a median 12-month return of -17.00 percent.
Corporate plans saw an annual median return of -16.84 percent while public funds racked up a 10.86 percent
median quarterly return and a -17.06 percent median performance for the year. For foundations and endowments
the median quarterly return was 10.66 percent.
"The U.S. stock market saw a $1.5 trillion paper gain during the second quarter as the Wilshire 5000
Total Stock Market IndexSM marked its first positive quarter since a 1.46 percent increase during the
third quarter of 2007," said Hilarie C. Green, CFA, managing director and head of Wilshire Analytics'
Performance Reporting division. "At the end of the quarter, U.S. stocks had gained 38.33 percent since
their recent low on March 9, 2009, which reduced the market sell-off to -38.30 percent since the Wilshire
5000's high in October 2007. Each individual month within the quarter enjoyed a positive return, as June's
narrow 0.35 percent gain represented the market's fourth consecutive up month," she noted.
Green noted that according to the Wilshire TUCS Equity Style Analysis, "Size, as measured by market
capitalization, was the stronger factor in performance this quarter for equity managers.
Small cap managers had the best performance returning 21.79 percent, followed by mid cap at 18.56 percent and
large cap at 15.96 percent," she said. "The impact of style was smaller with value managers posting a median
return of 18.26 percent and growth managers returning 17.04 percent. With regard to fixed income, high yield
managers did very well this quarter compared to the other types of fixed income manager styles," Green concluded.
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 Index
SM, 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.
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