Strong government responses and promises of financial supports to deal with the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic saw stock markets rally in April. As a result, Irish pension managed funds gained 8.6% on average over the month. Merrion Investment Managers and Zurich Life topped the table over the month, with returns of 10.7%, while Setanta Asset Management lagged the peer group with a return of 6.3% in April.

Following on from the worst quarterly performance since the financial crisis, April’s gains merely tempered the losses so far this year. Over the first four months of 2020, Irish pension managed funds have lost an average of 8.5%. Merrion Investment Managers lost the least ground over the year to date, with a return of -0.7%, while New Ireland declined the most, with a return of -14.7%. Over the past twelve months, Irish pension managed funds have delivered a 2.8% loss on average. Returns for the past year ranged from +3.5% (Merrion Investment Managers) to -10.4% (Setanta Asset Management).

The average managed fund return has been 2.4% per annum over the past three years. The five-year average return is just 3.0% per annum. Irish group pension managed fund returns over the past ten years have been a somewhat healthier 7.4% per annum on average.