The median public defined benefit pension plan lost 9.7% in the second quarter, and corporate DB plans had a median return of -10.5%, according to data provided by Callan. These were gross returns. Both bested a passive 60%/40% equity and fixed-income weight, measured by the S&P 500 and Bloomberg U.S. Aggregate Bond indexes, which lost 11.5%.
Over the last decade, public DB plans generated a 7.8% annualized return, and corporate DB plans produced a 6.8% return. Both trailed the weighted U.S. equity and fixed income indexes' 8.6% return.
The average public DB plan had over a 53% weight in equities and nearly 27% in fixed income. By contrast, corporate DB plans had nearly 39% of their assets in equities and almost 47% in fixed income.
