The latest figures from Mercer Investment Consulting show that the average Irish Pension Managed Fund gained 5.7% during the third quarter of the year, bringing the year to date return to 15.4%.
Montgomery Oppenheim's Managed Fund topped the table over the quarter, with a return of over 6.9%, followed by Eagle Star's Balanced Fund with a 6.6% return. BIAM and New Ireland lagged competitors in the third quarter - returning 3.5%.
Over the nine months to the end of September, Canada Life/Setanta's Managed Fund with a return of 18.1% and Eagle Star's Balanced Fund (17.5%) led the way against the average return of 15.4%. Davy's Exempt Pension Managed Fund with a return of 10.5% was the poorest performer over the nine month period.
Looking at longer term performances, the Average Managed Fund gained 1.1% per year over a five year period, with BIAM leading the way with a return of 3.6% and New Ireland close behind on 3.5%. KBCAM and AIBIM's Managed Funds with returns of -1.7% and -0.5% were the worst performing over the five years.
Mercer said that following a strong start to the third quarter, with global equity markets up 3.4% in July alone, markets fell slightly in August on the back of soaring oil prices. However it said that this downturn was shortlived, with global equities gaining 4.9% in September and finishing the quarter 7.8% higher overall.
All the major equity markets recorded solid gains over the third quarter, with Japanese shares enjoying a significant turnaround, returning 18.8% after struggling in the first half of the year.
Irish equities returned 5.1% for the quarter while North American equities provided the lowest returns of the main equity markets with a return of 5%. Concerns over the impact of Hurricane Katrina and soaring oil prices were the key factors detracting from revenues.
Unlike the first half of 2005, currency movements had little impact on returns over the third quarter of the year. The US dollar ended the quarter where it began, while sterling and the yen weakened slightly over the euro.
