Benchmark Performance

Benchmark indices are used to assess the effectiveness of the fund’s managers, asset classes and strategies by comparing the benchmarks selected by the Board and Investment Committee to the fund’s performance by asset class. To assess the overall fund’s performance, the total fund return is compared to the asset class benchmark indices aggregated and weighted to reflect the fund’s policy asset mix.

The table below shows the returns for each of fund’s seven asset classes and the total fund as well as their respective benchmarks for the one, five and ten-year periods ended August 31, 2007.

In the past fiscal year, the fund’s return exceeded its benchmark by 0.4% because of strong performance from our managers of Canadian, EAFE and Global equities.

For the five-year period, value-added was 0.1% a year at the total fund level.  The gains can be attributed to the outperformance of the EAFE equities over its benchmark.  Over the ten-year period, the total fund surpassed the benchmark’s performance by 0.6% due to outperformance by our managers of Canadian and EAFE equities.