The State Street master trust universe of retirement plans, foundations and endowments had a median return of 4.5% in the third quarter and a median return of 15.8% for the year ended Sept. 30.
Corporate defined benefit plans had the highest median returns for the quarter, with 5%, followed by Taft-Hartley plans at 4.7%; public pension plans, 4.6%; and foundations and endowments, 4.5%.
For the year ended Sept. 30, the order remained the same with the median corporate plan returning 17.4%, followed by Taft-Hartley, 17.1%; public pension plans, 16.4%; and foundations and endowments at 15.2%.
Emerging markets equity portfolios had the highest median return for the quarter, at 7.4%, while developed markets equities portfolios were next with a median return of 7.2%, according to a news release from State Street.
Global equity portfolios returned a median 6.9%, followed by domestic equity at 6.2%; global fixed income, 4.2%; hedge funds, 2.6%; domestic fixed income, 2.5%.
Domestic equity portfolios led the way for the 12 months ended Sept. 30, with a median return of 30.1%, followed by global equity at 19.8%; emerging markets equity portfolios, 17.6%; developed markets equity, 16.2%; global fixed income, 10.3%; domestic fixed income, 8.8%; and hedge funds, 5.6%.
The State Street universe of retirement plans, foundations and endowments consists of 18,000 portfolios with a combined asset value of $2.3 trillion.
