The median commingled large-cap and small-cap growth equity funds in...

The median commingled large-cap and small-cap growth equity funds in the PIPER universe outperformed the S&P 500 in the fourth quarter of 1998, returning 24.5% and 22.7% respectively, compared with 21.3% for the index. The median value equity fund for the same period returned only 16.1%, with the median small-cap value equity fund turning in the worst performance, 12.4%. For the year ended Dec. 31, the median large-cap growth equity fund in PIPER commingled funds outperformed the S&P 500 with a return of 30.1%, compared with 28.6% for the index. The worst performance for median commingled equity funds was small-cap value, which fell 4.4% for the year. The median fixed-income commingled limited duration fund bettered the Salomon Smith Barney broad investment grade index for the quarter, but returned at the bottom of median fixed-income funds in PIPER for the year ended Dec. 31. The median fund returned 0.8% for the quarter and 7% for the year, compared with the index, which returned 0.4% and 8.7%, respectively. The worst performance for the quarter was long-duration fixed income, which returned only 0.2%. It topped the year, however, returning 10.4%.