• The S&P Target Date® Scorecard provides performance comparisons and analytics covering the U.S. target date fund (TDF) universe.
• The S&P Target Date Index Series offers representative benchmarks for TDFs. The series is investable, comprises consensus-derived asset allocation weights, and its composition is known in advance of evaluation periods.
• The first half of 2020 saw sizeable swings as the market reacted to COVID-19. After we said goodbye to the longest ever bull market in March, U.S. equities hosted a tremendous rally in Q2: the S&P 500® (up 21%) posted its best quarterly total return since 1998.
• Higher equity allocations made far-dated S&P Target Date Indices more sensitive to equity market movements. Indeed, Exhibit 1 shows that far-dated indices experienced greater drawdowns during Q1 2020 but also posted stronger returns in Q2.
• Overall, nearer-dated S&P Target Date Indices outperformed their longer-dated counterparts in the first half of 2020. However, higher allocations to U.S. large caps helped far-dated indices to outperform over longer horizons: the S&P 500 posted the highest returns of any S&P Target Date Index component over three- and five-year horizons.