Third Quarter Plan Sponsor Returns Stay Positive with Non-US Equity Continuing to Lead the Way, according to BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe/Asset Strategy View

PR Newswire

NEW YORK, Nov. 9, 2017 /PRNewswire/ -- The BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe returned a median +3.33% for the third quarter, marking the eighth straight quarter of positive results for the fund-level tracking service.

Frances Barney, CFA, head of Global Risk Solutions at BNY Mellon

While performance was strong across all plan types, Public Plans reported the highest median return, climbing +3.55% for the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe, which has a market value of more than $2.0 trillion and an average plan size of $5.4 billion. The BNY Mellon Master Trust Universe reported a one-year return of +11.82%, which surpassed its 3-year annualized return of +6.69% and 5-year annualized return of +8.26%.

"Public Pensions benefited from a higher allocation to Non-US Equity investments versus other plan types, 19.82% versus 16.15% for the Master Trust Universe as a whole," said Frances Barney, CFA, head of Global Risk Solutions at BNY Mellon.

"Health Care plan performance lagged other plan types due to lower allocations to Non-US Equity, while all asset classes continued to post positive results on a one-year basis in the third quarter," she added.

The BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe, which consists of 731 corporate, foundation, endowment, public, Taft-Hartley, and health care plans, offers peer comparisons of performance by plan type and size.

"Non-U.S. equity was the top performing asset class with double-digit gains over the one-year period (+19.78%), followed by US Equity continuing its run of strong performance (+18.58%) followed by Real Estate (+7.94%%)," she added.

Q3 Highlights

Over 99% of plans posted positive results during the quarter
Public Plans saw the highest median return (+3.55%), followed by Foundations (+3.46%)
U.S. equities posted a quarterly median return of +4.53%, versus the Russell 3000 Index return of +4.57%. Non-U.S. equities saw a median return of +6.07%, compared to the Russell Developed ex U.S. Large Cap Index result of +5.75%. U.S. fixed income had a median return of 1.15%, versus the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index return of +0.85%. Non-U.S. fixed income had a median return of +2.85%, versus the Citigroup Non-U.S. World Government Bond Index return of +2.57%. Real estate had a median return of +1.88%, versus the NCREIF Property Index result of +1.70%

BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe users are now able to take advantage of Asset Strategy View as a separate big data service. Launched last spring, Asset Strategy View delivers aggregate levels of asset owner allocations and capital flows to provide insight into market trends and investor activity.

The average asset allocation in the BNY Mellon Asset Allocation Universes for the third quarter was: US Equity 26%, Non-US Equity 17%, Global Equity 9%, US Fixed Income 24%, Global Fixed Income 3%, Non-US Fixed Income 2%, TIPS/Inflation Linked Bonds 4%, Real Estate 6%, Private Equity 11%, Other Real Assets 3%, Hedge Funds 17%, and Cash 4%. Average based on those that are invested.

BNY Mellon U.S. Trust Universe Median Plan Returns*

Period Ending September 30, 2017
Universe	Number of Participants	3Q 2017	One- Year	Five- Years	Ten-Years
Master Trust Total Fund	731	3.19	11.82	8.26	5.42
Corporate Plans	307	3.16	10.38	8.07	5.66
Foundations	98	3.46	12.39	7.98	4.97
Endowments	91	3.32	12.52	8.35	5.14
Public Plans	139	3.55	12.40	8.60	5.47
Taft-Hartley Plans	66	3.26	11.86	8.44	5.59
Health Care Plans	19	3.01	10.85	7.22	4.76

*All returns are posted gross of fee results.

BNY Mellon U.S. Asset Allocations Averages (of those invested) by Asset Class
Period Ending September 30, 2017

Asset Class		One Year Ago	Three Years Ago
	Q3 2017

US Equity	26%	27%	25%
Non-US Equity	17%	16%	14%
Global Equity	9%	10%	11%
US Fixed Income	24%	24%	23%
Global Fixed Income	3%	5%	6%
Non-US Fixed Income	2%	3%	1%
TIPS/Inflation Linked Bonds	4%	4%	4%
Real Estate	6%	6%	4%
Private Equity	11%	11%	12%
Other Real Assets	3%	4%	2%
Hedge Funds	17%	18%	18%
Cash	4%	5%	5%

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 2016. This data is provided by Barclays Bank PLC all rights are reserved. Citigroup Non-US World Government Bond Index: © Citigroup Global Markets Inc., 2016. All rights reserved.

*****

Information containing any historical information, data or analysis should not be taken as an indication or guarantee of any future performance, analysis, forecast or prediction. Past performance does not guarantee future results. The Information should not be relied on and is not a substitute for the skill, judgment and experience of the user, its management, employees, advisors and/or clients when making investment and other business decisions. None of the Information constitutes an offer to sell (or a solicitation of an offer to buy), any security, financial product or other investment vehicle or any trading strategy.

BNY Mellon's Asset Servicing business supports institutional investors in today's fast-evolving markets, safeguarding assets and enhancing the management and administration of client investments through services that process, monitor and measure data from around the world. We leverage our global footprint and local expertise to deliver insight and solutions across every stage of the investment lifecycle.

BNY Mellon is a global investments company dedicated to helping its clients manage and service their financial assets throughout the investment lifecycle. Whether providing financial services for institutions, corporations or individual investors, BNY Mellon delivers informed investment management and investment services in 35 countries and more than 100 markets. As of Sept. 30, 2016, BNY Mellon had $30.5 trillion in assets under custody and/or administration, and $1.72 trillion in assets under management. BNY Mellon can act as a single point of contact for clients looking to create, trade, hold, manage, service, distribute or restructure investments. BNY Mellon is the corporate brand of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation (NYSE: BK). Learn more at www.bnymellon.com. Follow us on Twitter @BNYMellon or visit our newsroom at www.bnymellon.com/newsroom for the latest company news.