99% of plans in the black; second straight quarter of positive performance

BOSTON, May 10, 2012 — The median return of the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe was 7.12% for the first quarter of 2012, marking the second consecutive quarter of positive returns.  For the twelve months ending March 31, 2012, the median plan was up 4.33%.

With a market value of $2.29 trillion and an average plan size of $3.19 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 719 corporate, foundation, endowment, public, Taft-Hartley and health care plans.

"Building on 2011's strong finish, all segments of the Universe posted appreciable returns for Q1, with public plans leading the way at 7.70%, followed by foundations which trailed by less than half a percent," said John Houser, vice president and manager of performance & risk analytics for BNY Mellon.  "For the 12-month period, corporate pension plans far outpaced other segments with a return of 6.01%, getting a boost from their relative overweighting of U.S. fixed income holdings."

Highlights

• Nearly 99% of plans had positive results for the quarter ending March 31, 2012.  For the 12-month period, 96% of plans were in the black.
• 42% of plans matched or outperformed the custom policy return of 7.53% for Q1.  For the full year, 24% of plans outperformed the custom policy.
• Public plans were the leading plan type for the first quarter with a median return of 7.70%, followed by foundations, Taft-Hartley, corporate pensions, health care and endowment plans.
• U.S. equities were the dominant asset class for the quarter with a median return of 12.95%, versus the Russell 300o Index return of 12.87%.  Non-U.S. equities posted a median return of 11.97%, ahead of the Russell Developed ex US Large Cap Index result of 10.76%.  U.S. fixed income had a median return of 1.36%, versus the Barclays Capital U.S. Aggregate Bond Index return of 0.30%.  Non-U.S. fixed income posted a median return of 3.40%, compared to the Citigroup Non-U.S. World Government Bond Index return of -0.22%. 

The average asset allocation in the BNY Mellon U.S. Master Trust Universe for the first quarter was: U.S. equity 29%, U.S. fixed income 27%, non-U.S. equity 16%, non-U.S. fixed income 2%, real estate 2%, cash 2%, and alternatives/other 22%.

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 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 $26.6 trillion in assets under custody and administration and $1.3 trillion in assets under management, services $11.9 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 (NYSE: BK). Additional information is available on 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.