Crossing the Rubicon

The latest news and opinion from Rubicon Investment Consulting

2016 Ends on a High Note for Irish Pension Funds

Irish pension managed funds rallied again during December, gaining 2.3% on average over the month. Zurich Life and New Ireland topped the table over the final month of the year, with returns of 2.8%, while Friends First/BMO lagged the peer group over the month, with a return of 1.6%.

With positive returns in two out of the three months, Irish pension managed funds returned 5.0% on average over the fourth quarter of the year. Zurich Life produced the strongest return over the quarter, at 6.7%; while Standard Life’s 2.8% was the weakest quarterly return. Thanks to a strong finish, pension funds delivered a very respectable 5.8% return on average over 2016. This figure masks a wide range of performances, however, as returns for the calendar year ranged from 12.2% (Setanta Asset Management) to -0.7% (Merrion Investment Managers), representing a difference of almost 13% between the best and worst performing funds in just 12 months.

The average managed fund return has been a healthy 10.3% per annum over the past three years. The five-year average return is a strong 12.5% per annum. Irish group pension managed fund returns over the past ten years have been 4.3% per annum on average.