Irish pension funds rallied strongly during November, gaining 2.7% on average over the month. Setanta Asset Management delivered the best performance this month with a gain of 3.8%, while Standard Life Investments delivered the worst, with a return of 1.3%.

Despite a strong November, pension funds have failed to make much headway in 2016, with the average fund gaining just 3.4% over the first eleven months of the year. This figure masks a wide range of performances, however, as returns for the year to date ranged from 10.0% (Setanta Asset Management) to -3.2% (Merrion Investment Managers), representing a difference of over 13% between the best and worst performing funds in just 11 months. Over the past year, the average fund return was a disappointing -0.4%. Setanta Asset Management top the table over the past year with a return of 5.1%, while Merrion Investment Managers produced the lowest return at -6.3%.

The average managed fund return has been a healthy 9.6% per annum over the past three years. The five-year average return is a strong 12.7% per annum. Irish group pension managed fund returns over the past ten years have been 4.4% per annum on average.