By Angela Chen
The funded status of U.S corporate pensions edged up slightly in
November, but is still well below its December 2013 high.
The funded status of the typical U.S. corporate-pension plan
increased 0.4 percentage point to 89.9% in November and is now back
to its September figure, according to the BNY Mellon Investment
Strategy & Solutions Group. The asset improvement came from
strength in U.S. large cap and international developed-market
equities. Endowments and foundations benefited from good
performance of private equity and real-estate investment
trusts.
November's gain is still down 5.3 percentage points from the
December 2013 high of 95.2%, according to BNY Mellon.
"The rebound in funded status in November reversed the damage
done in October," said Andrew D. Wozniak, head of fiduciary
solutions at ISSG. In October, the funded status of pensions fell
0.4 percentage point to 89.5%.
However, Mr. Wozniak said that plan sponsors are bracing for
changes in how regulators view certain liabilities. These changes
are likely to drive down the funded status for sponsors who will
report earnings as of Dec. 31.
Write to Angela Chen at angela.chen@wsj.com
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