BNY Mellon reports that its tracking service revealed a 4% median return in the fourth quarter of 2021
Canadian investment plans posted a median return of 4.11% in the last three months of 2021 according to BNY Mellon.
The results from tracking plans in its Canadian Master Trust Universe mark a seventh consecutive quarter of positive returns. The one-year median return as of December 31, 2021, was 9.48%, just above the 10-year average of 9.39%.
"Despite ongoing challenges from the Omicron variant, global inflationary concerns, and the expected tightening of monetary policy, Canadian plan sponsors posted strong returns across all traditional asset classes this quarter," said David Cohen, Director, Manager of GRS Consulting with BNY Mellon Global Risk Solutions. "The BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe median return was positive, led by Canadian and U.S. Equities for this quarter and all of 2021."
The BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe is based on $309.1 billion worth of investment assets in Canadian investment plans, with the average plan size of $3.7 billion.
Top performers
The data shows that among traditional asset classes, the US Equity Universe was the top performer with a median return of 7.35%. Conversely, the median return for international equity was just 1.95%.
Among non-traditional asset classes, real estate was the outperformer with a median return of 4.31% in Q4, 2021 and private equity posted 3.25%, while hedge funds were flat at 0.03%.
The Fixed Income median return was 2.33% in the fourth quarter of 2021. Fixed Income outperformed relative to the FTSE Canada Universe Bond Index for the fourth quarter, which returned 1.67%.
Other highlights
- The BNY Mellon Canadian Master Trust Universe of Canadian pension plans over $1 billion underperformed the median return of the Canadian Master Trust Universe in Q4 2021.
- Canadian Foundations and Endowments posted a median performance of 4.50% for the fourth quarter.
- All of the major equity segments posted healthy positive returns.
- Canadian Equity posted a median return of +6.20% in the fourth quarter, ahead of the S&P/TSX Composite Index return of +3.06%.
- U.S. Equity posted a quarterly median return of +7.35%, outperforming the S&P 500 Index return of +2.88%.
- Non-Canadian Equity reported a positive median return of +5.39% in Q4, exceeding the MSCI World Index return of +2.71%.
- International Equity posted a quarterly median return of +1.95%, behind the MSCI EAFE Index return of 3.52%
