After three years of falling returns, the average Irish Pension Managed Fund rose 9% in the second quarter of the year, according to new figures from Mercer Investment Consulting.
Irish Life (11.4%) and Acorn Life (10.5%) were the best performing managers over the second quarter, the figures show. Irish Life Global Access (7.5%), AIB Investment Managers and Eagle Star (both at 8.1%) were the worst performers in Q2 against an average return of 9%.
Irish Life (5.4%) and Friends First (4.6%) were the highest ranking funds in the year to date, outperforming the average return of 3.7%. The biggest underperformers so far this year were KBC Asset Management and Standard Life, returning 2.7% and 3%.
Equity markets posted positive returns across the board, with the global market gaining 11.6% over the three month period. During the three months from April to June, the ISEQ increased by 8.7% while the Dow was up 12% and the FTSE was up 11%.
However the strength of the euro had a negative impact on non-euro based asset returns over the quarter, Mercer said.
'Equity markets over the second quarter recovered strongly from the losses witnessed in the early months of the year, buoyed by the reasonably swift conclusion to the war in Iraq, further ECB and Federal Reserve interest rate cuts, as well as some signs of improving economic fundamentals,' said Grainne Alexander, Senior Investment Consultant with Mercer.
But despite the recent strong gains, medium term pension funds remain in negative terrority, with the average managed fund down 0.5% over the last five years.
New Ireland (2.7%) is the top performer over a five year period, followed by Montgomery Oppenheim (2.6%). AIB Asset Management (-2.6%) and Standard Life (-2.3%) are the underperformers.
