Growth funds outperformed value funds in Mercer’s Defined Contribution Universe in the fourth quarter, although both categories, as well as most other equity classes, registered losses.
The median large-cap growth fund returned -0.5% compared with -4.7% for the median large-cap value fund, according to Mercer. The median small-cap growth fund, at -3.2%, outperformed the median small-cap value fund by 310 basis points. The international equity asset class outperformed U.S. equities for the quarter by 150 basis points; global equities lost 2.4% for the quarter and underperformed international equities by 60 basis points.
The median large-cap fund returned -2.6% for the quarter, outperforming the S&P 500 index by 70 basis points and the median small-cap fund by 280 basis points.
Within the international equity asset class, the median manager outperformed the MSCI EAFE index by just 10 basis points during the quarter. The median emerging markets manager returned 3.4% for the quarter but underperformed the MSCI Emerging Market Free Index by 30 basis points.
