Benchmarking Performance Evaluation

John, a portfolio manager, is evaluating his firm's performance against a benchmark index. The benchmark is a composite index comprising 70% equities from the Domestic Large Cap Index and 30% fixed income from the Investment Grade Bond Index. John has managed a fund that has a 5-year annualized return of 8%, compared to the benchmark's return of 6%. However, he notes that the benchmark went through significant changes in the last year, including a 15% weighting reduction in the equities due to market downturns, while the fixed income component saw a stable performance.

John is considering whether his fund's performance can be deemed superior and whether he should adjust his benchmark to reflect recent market conditions. As part of a performance evaluation report, the performance of the fund and benchmark must be analyzed accurately. Based on this scenario, which of the following statements best reflects the considerations John should make regarding benchmarking?