Investing May 15, 2003

MSCI Hedge Fund Index Finds Joy In April

May 15, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - The MSCI Hedge Fund Composite Index took a joyous leap in April, boasting a 2% return, according to preliminary MSCI data.
Reported by

Based on returns from 57% of the funds in the index reporting through May 12, MSCI said April’s performance represented a 3.7% advance year to date. That compares to a 4.4% return for 2002. The index gave back 0.47% during March (See  MSCI Hedge Fund Index Slides 0.47% in March).

Enjoying the biggest April gain among the process groups within the Hedge Fund Composite Index was the Specialist Credit Index, which gained 1.7% for the month and 5.4% year to date. The Directional Trading Index showed a 1.3% April return and 5.1% year to date gain, while the Relative Value Index reflected a 0.9% April performance and 3.5% year to date advance.

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Investing May 14, 2003

WSJ: S&P To Start Ranking REITs

May 14, 2003 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - More than 90 real estate investment trusts (REIT) are expected to join the ranks of the Standard & Poor's (S&P) earnings and dividend quality-ranking system.
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Although still awaiting a formal announcement by S&P, the inclusion would take effect sometime this month.   The move comes only two years after S&P began including some REITs in its 500-stock index as Wall Street is increasingly warming up to the sector that has had an average 7% yield over the past three years, according to a Wall Street Journal report.

Raymond Mathis, REIT equity analyst at S&P told the Wall Street Journal the decision to include REITs was spurred, in part, by the amount of phone calls he said S&P fielded from institutional investors who wanted to invest in REITs. The reason for the demand are some institutional requirements of a high S&P quality ranking.   In general, the rankings, graded on a scale of A-plus to C, with A-plus signifying the company has the strongest dividend and earnings growth, appear on the front of S&P’s stock reports, which are available to individual and institutional investors, mutual funds, and financial advisers who subscribe to S&P.

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The rankings are calculated annually. But they can change before a year ends if there’s a major dividend cut, or bankruptcy in the interim.   However, the rankings are less a predictor of future performance than a look at how companies perform over time, based on the system’s approach of appraising the growth and stability of earnings and dividends on individual companies, based on per-share earnings and dividend records over the past 10 years.

Thus far, the only REITs assigned A-plus ratings are shopping-center ownersKimco RealtyCorp. andMid-Atlantic Realty Trust, of Lutherville, Md.   To see the complete rankings for REITs, investors can visit  www.standardandpoors.com  and click on “Equity.”

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