Irish pension funds delivered another lacklustre performance during October, resulting in a loss of 0.1% on average over the month. New Ireland turned in the best performance this month with a gain of 1.0%, while Standard Life Investments delivered the worst, with a return of -1.0%.

So far this year, pension funds have failed to make much headway, with the average fund gaining just 0.7% over the first ten months of 2016. This figure masks a wide range of performances, however, as returns for the year to date ranged from 6.1% (Setanta Asset Management) to -5.8% (Merrion Investment Managers), representing a difference of almost 12% between the best and worst performing funds in just ten months. Over the past year, the average fund return was a disappointing 0.1%. Setanta Asset Management top the table over the past year with a return of 4.8%, while Merrion Investment Managers produced the lowest return at -5.5%.

The average managed fund return has been a healthy 9.2% per annum over the past three years. The five-year average return is a strong 11.9% per annum. Irish group pension managed fund returns over the past ten years have been 4.2% per annum on average.

(Please note that the Aviva Investors Pension Balanced Managed Fund closed on 14th October 2016.)