Irish pension funds gained 2.7% on average during May, with strong performances from all of the main managed funds. Aviva Investors, Merrion Investment Managers and Zurich Life shared top spot this month with returns of 3.0%, while New Ireland propped up the league table with 1.6% gain.

2016 has been a disappointing year so far, however, with pension funds down 0.7% on average over the first five months. Returns for the year to date ranged from 3.9% (Setanta Asset Management) to -4.3% (Merrion Investment Managers). Over the past twelve months the average fund return was a disappointing -4.4%. Setanta Asset Management top the table over the past year with a return of 0.2%, while Merrion Investment Managers produced the lowest returns at -7.3%.

The average managed fund return has been a strong 10.2% per annum over the past three years. The five-year average return is a healthy 10.2% per annum. Irish group pension managed fund returns over the past ten years have been 4.7% per annum on average.