US Equity Funds Celebrate Bountiful November

December 3, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - Domestic equity funds enjoyed their second straight up month in November after suffering through the depths of the bear market, according to research firm Lipper, Inc.

According to Lipper, the average diversified stock fund jumped by almost 6% in November, about the same as in October’s performance, (See “Up” is Down and Down Up in October Fund Performance ) Reuters reported.

In a particularly notable turnaround, science and technology funds as well as telecommunications funds enjoyed a bountiful November, according to Lipper.

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The average science & technology fund was up nearly 17% in November and the average telecommunication fund climbed by about 14%, topping the list of 35 stock fund categories in the Lipper data. Nevertheless, even after the back-to-back monthly gains, science and technology funds were down about 34% year-to-date and telecommunication funds were down nearly 36%.

Among the diversified fund categories the best performance last month came in small-cap growth funds, with the average fund up 7.7%, narrowly edging out the mid-cap value category, which was up by a similar amount.

Large cap value funds were up 6.3% for the month, while large cap growth funds were up 4.3%. On a year-to-date basis, the large value funds were also outperforming the large growth category, with the former down 15.8% and the latter down 23.3%.

Of Lipper’s 35 stock fund classifications, only specialty diversified equity funds were down in November. The category includes funds that bet on a declining market.

Employers Cut Jobs – Not Perks, Pay

December 2, 2002 (PLANSPONSOR.com) - While layoffs continue to loom at a number of firms, perks and pay appear to be escaping the ax at most firms responding to a new survey.

According to the 2002 Layoff Trends survey by World at Work, only 16% of responding firms are trimming workplace perks, such as club memberships and expense accounts, about the same as a year ago.   In addition, only about 4% of companies have conducted pay cuts and just an additional 5% are even considering taking that step.

Layoff Targets

Still, more than half of the responding organizations have experienced layoffs in the past 12 months, and almost one-third (29.5%) anticipate layoffs in the next six months.   However, the survey’s authors note that what is perhaps more significant is who is getting laid off – increasingly technical staff in areas such as information technology (IT) and research and development (R&D).

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Employers are continuing to consider a variety of cost-cutting alternatives, including:

  • 64% – Implementing hiring freezes
  • 58% – Reducing/suspending annual pay increases
  • 46% – Reducing/suspending bonuses
  • 28% – Granting voluntary severance
  • 26% – Granting early retirement
  • 26% – Job Sharing
  • 25% – Changing regular employees to contract status

The vast majority of respondents (95%) communicate layoffs via face-to-face meetings with workers, while 73% did so in small group meetings at the departmental level.

Companies for the most part are also providing employees with time to prepare for the change, with over half (53%) providing up to two weeks’ notice and 44% providing more time.

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