Crossing the Rubicon

The latest news and opinion from Rubicon Investment Consulting

March Puts a Spring in the Steps of Irish Multi-Asset Pension Funds

Spring is a time of new growth and change. So we are delighted to bring you the new and improved Rubicon Multi-Asset Pension Fund Survey. After much consideration, we have expanded the range of funds included in this survey, and on the fund calculator tool, to better reflect the current market. In addition to the traditional "managed balanced" funds previously included, we now show the performance of a range of "multi-asset" funds, with a broadly similar mandate. We hope you find it useful!

Our new survey covers a specific peer group of multi-asset pooled funds which are used by a wide-range of pension investors. The funds included in this peer group will generally be multi-asset funds that are targeting long-term growth, with volatility broadly in the range of 10-15% per annum. This peer group is not exhaustive, and the constituents may change from time to time. The inclusion of any fund in the survey is by no means a recommendation or an endorsement. The average returns may be viewed as a rough proxy for the performance of Irish pension funds in the "growth" phase of the retirement savings cycle; however, they do not necessarily equate to the experience of the pensions market as a whole, or of any specific pension scheme or member. Nor do the individual fund returns necessarily reflect the relative performance of the investment managers in relation to their broader offerings.

During March, our survey shows a 4.4% gain on average, while the first quarter saw a 6.6% average return. Over the past twelve months, the average return of the 16 funds surveyed is a striking 33.0%. Returns for the past year ranged significantly, from 44.6% to 23.1%, reflecting the volatile year experienced by investment markets.

The average return has been strong, at 8.9% per annum, over the past three years. The five-year average return is a robust 8.2% per annum. Fund returns over the past ten years have been a healthy 9.2% per annum on average.