Canada’s defined benefit pension plans saw median returns of negative 7.33 per cent in the second quarter of 2022, according to the BNY Mellon Canadian master trust universe.

It found the one-year median return as of June 30, 2022 was negative 8.25 per cent, while the median 10-year annualized return was 7.45 per cent.

Among traditional asset classes, fixed income posted the best performance with a median return of negative 6.46 per cent, but underperformed relative to the FTSE Canada universe bond index, which returned negative 5.66 per cent.

Read: Canadian institutional investors’ losses reach 4.61% in Q1: report

Canadian equities returned negative 11.05 per cent in the quarter, ahead of the S&P/TSX composite index (negative 13.19 per cent), while U.S. equities posted a return of negative 12.51 per cent, exceeding the S&P 500 index (negative 13.35 per cent). International equities returned negative 11.22 per cent, slightly ahead of the MSCI EAFE index (negative 11.49 per cent).

In terms of non-traditional asset classes, real estate delivered the highest performance with a quarterly median return of 4.37 per cent, followed by private equity (3.25 per cent) and hedge funds (1.32 per cent)

Read: Median return of Canadian DB pension plans reaches 4.11% in Q4 of 2021: report