Plans Benefit from Second Strong Month of Equity Returns BOSTON, May 6 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Driven by a second consecutive month of strong performances by global equities, the funded status of a typical U.S. corporate pension plan improved by 3.9 percentage points in April, according to monthly statistics published by BNY Mellon Asset Management. Assets for a typical moderate risk portfolio increased 6.7 percent, outpacing the 1.4 percent gain in liabilities during the month. For the year to date, the funding ratio for the typical plan is now up 9.5 percentage points, as represented by the BNY Mellon Pension Liability Index. "April's continuation of the global equity market rebound that started in March brought the funded status of the typical U.S. corporate pension plan nearly back to levels that we last saw at the end of November 2008," said Peter Austin, executive director of BNY Mellon Pension Services, the pension services arm of BNY Mellon Asset Management. "In April, the yields on long corporate Aa bonds decreased slightly, contributing to the slight rise in liabilities. We have been expecting these yields, which were well over their historic levels, to begin declining at some point." Austin noted that corporate bond spreads, while narrowing in April, continue to be above typical past levels. "In April, the decline of more than 50 basis points in corporate spreads was accompanied by a rise in Treasury yields. We continue to be wary of narrowing corporate spreads, which have the potential to increase liabilities," he said. "At that point, plans will need additional help from equities to protect their funded status; or they will need to be particularly astute in managing their exposure to liabilities through effective asset allocation." Notes to Editors: BNY Mellon Asset Management is the umbrella organization for The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation's affiliated investment management firms and global distribution companies. 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 $19.5 trillion in assets under custody and administration, $881 billion in assets under management, services more than $11 trillion in outstanding debt and processes global payments averaging $1.8 trillion per day. Additional information is available at http://www.bnymellon.com/. DATASOURCE: The Bank of New York Mellon Corporation CONTACT: Mike Dunn, +1-212-922-7859, Web Site: http://www.bnymellon.com/

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