BNY Mellon Asset Servicing announces
CAPS pooled pension fund update for October 2008
LONDON, November 25, 2008 – BNY Mellon Asset Servicing, the global leader in securities servicing, has today
announced the CAPS pooled pension funds performance results in the UK for the month of October 2008.
• Balanced pooled funds achieved a median return of -10.1% in October 2008 (-10.3% in September 2008)
• Over one, three and five years to 31 October 2008, Balanced pooled funds returned -27.3%, -1.6% p.a. and
4.3% p.a. respectively.
• Over 10 years to 31 October 2008 these funds have returned 2.5% p.a.
• Active UK Equity managers returned -12.9%, net of fees, for the month. This was 1.0% behind the return
of the FTSE All-Share index.
• Net median performance against index performance for October 2008 is detailed below:
| Section | Net Median
Return (%) | Index
Return (%)
|
| Balanced | -10.1 | -
|
| UK Smaller Companies | -19.1 | -19.8
|
| UK Equity – Standard | -12.9 | -11.9
|
| Overseas Equity | -11.8 | -11.7
|
| Global Equity | -12.3 | -11.6
|
| North American Equity | -9.1 | -9.3
|
| European ex UK Equity | -15.3 | -14.7
|
| Pan European Equity | -14.6 | -13.6
|
| Japanese Equity | -6.2 | -5.7
|
| Pacific Basin (ex Japan) | -15.6 | -16.6
|
| Emerging Market Equity | -20.4 | -19.9
|
| UK Bonds – Standard | -2.4 | 0.3
|
| UK Bonds – Long Term | -2.8 | -0.7
|
| International Bond | 7.4 | 9.4
|
| Index-Linked | -7.3 | -6.6
|
| Cash | 0.4 | 0.4
|
| Property | -3.1 | -3.5 |
Markets
• October saw negative results across each of the major equity markets, with many in double digit
territory.
• The strongest equity market returns came from Japanese and North American Equities with returns of -5.7%
and -9.3% respectively. This was primarily due to currency movements which boosted sterling returns in these
markets.
• The poorest performances came from Emerging Markets and Asia Pacific ex Japan Equities which returned
-19.9% and -16.6% respectively.
• Bonds performed better during October, with UK and Overseas Bonds returning 0.3% and 9.4% respectively.
Overseas Bonds achieved the highest overall return of the quarter.
• Both Property and Index-Linked Gilts struggled during the month, returning -3.5% and -6.6% respectively.
By contrast, Cash returned 0.4%.
Balanced fund asset distributions
• UK Equities averaged 38.2% at the end of October, which is the lowest that we have recorded for this
sector since our records began. This fall of -1.7% was primarily due to poor relative performance during the
month.
• Within Overseas Equities, weightings in North American and Japanese Equities were boosted by 0.8% and
0.3% respectively, as a result of both manager movements and positive relative performance.
• Poor relative performance meant that holdings in European, Pacific ex Japan and Emerging Market Equities
all saw reductions during the month.
• During the month, strong relative performance resulted in weightings being boosted by 0.5% and 0.8%
respectively for UK and Overseas Bonds. At the end of the month, weightings were 10.3% and 3.3% respectively for
these sectors.
• During October, weightings in Property and Index-Linked Gilts both remained static.
• Strong performance relative to other sectors, meant that cash weightings were boosted by 0.5% to 9.8%.
Survey size
BNY Mellon Asset Servicing’s Pooled Pension Fund Database covers the largest and most representative sample
available to UK pension funds’ trustees. BNY Mellon Asset Servicing currently covers 73 separate asset managers
who manage over £344 billion in pooled funds, both balanced and specialist.
Notes to editors
The performance analysis and other information in this (report and/or press release) are based on historical
data and are intended for informational purposes only. Past performance is not a guarantee of future
performance. This (report and/or press release) does not constitute investment advice, nor is it an offer or
recommendation of any security, investment product, service or firm.
BNY Mellon Asset Servicing offers clients worldwide a broad spectrum of specialized asset servicing
capabilities, including custody and fund services, securities lending, performance and analytics, and execution
services. BNY Mellon Asset Servicing offers its products and services through The Bank of New York Mellon and
other subsidiaries of The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation.
The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation is a global financial services company focused on helping clients
manage and service their financial assets, operating in 34 countries and serving more than 100 markets. The
company is a leading provider of financial services for institutions, corporations and high-net-worth
individuals, providing superior asset management and wealth management, asset servicing, issuer services,
clearing services and treasury services through a worldwide client-focused team. It has $22.4 trillion in assets
under custody and administration, more than $1 trillion in assets under management and services $12 trillion in
outstanding debt. Additional information is available at www.bnymellon.com.