The Overall median domestic equity account squeaked past the S&P 500 in the third quarter, returning 3.2% compared with the index's 3.1%. But the overall equity median managed account returned 19.3% for the year ended Sept. 30, underperforming the index, which returned 20.3%, according to the PIPER Flash Report. Large-cap growth accounts showed the strongest returns for the quarter with a 4.1% median return, while the median small-cap growth account fared the worst, returning 2.1% for that period.
For fixed income, the overall median account in PIPER returned 1.8% for the quarter, compared with 1.9% for the Salomon Broad Bond Index. But for the year, the median portfolio returned 5.2%, compared with 4.9% for the index. The PIPER median high-yield bond account had the strongest return in bond categories for the quarter, at 4.9%. The worst performing bond categories in the quarter were median limited duration and median long duration portfolios, each of which returned 1.7%.
The overall median international equity account return was zero for the quarter ended Sept. 30 and 11.5% for the year; the MSCI EAFE index returned -0.1% for the quarter and was up 8.9% for the year. The median European equity account did best in the quarter, returning 2.6%. The median PIPER Japan equity portfolio did the worst, returning -6.6%.
