InvestorForce Plan Universes trust funds closed out 2013 with a 4.57% median return during the fourth quarter, posting a full-year return of 13.68%.
Three- and five-year median returns for all funds through Dec. 31 were 8.8% and 11.5%, respectively.
Returns were driven by global equity markets during the year as the Russell 3000 index returned nearly 34% and the MSCI ACWI ex U.S. index was up 16.5%.
Taft-Hartley defined benefit plans led all plan types with a 16.8% median return for the year, followed by public DB (15.5%), endowments and foundations (14.6%), and corporate DB plans (12.1%).
Corporate DB plans continued to lag over the short term, as the Barclays U.S. Aggregate Bond index slipped 2% in 2013. Corporate DB plans had the highest median fixed-income allocation of all major plan universes at 34.9%.
Over the longer-term (five years), corporate plans led asset owner types with a 12.3% median return through Dec. 31, followed by public plans (12.2%), endowments and foundations (11.8%), and Taft-Hartley plans (11.5%).