Equity markets declined again during September, as the fallout from the Chinese stock market crash continued to be felt. The long-awaited rate hike in the US, which had been anticipated for September, was pushed back - possibly to next year.

Irish pension managed funds delivered negative returns during September, with the average loss being 2.6%. Davy Asset Management were ranked top this month with a return of -1.9%, while Standard Life propped up the league table with a return of -3.9%. Two consecutive months of negative returns resulted in losses (of 6.3% on average) over the third quarter. Setanta Asset Management achieved the strongest return over the quarter, with a decline of 5.1%, while Standard Life Investments delivered the weakest performance with a return of -7.5% over the three months. The first nine months of 2015 have still seen positive pension managed fund returns however, with an average return of 3.1%. Merrion Investment Managers top the table over the year to date with a return of 7.2%, while Kleinwort Benson Investors produced the lowest return at 1.1%. Over the past twelve months, the average fund return was 7.8%. Returns for the year ranged from 12.8% (Merrion Investment Managers) to 3.9% (New Ireland).

The average managed fund return has been a very strong 12.3% per annum over the past three years. The five-year average return is a healthy 10.3% per annum. Irish group pension managed fund returns over the past ten years have been 4.6% per annum on average.