Figures released by consultants Mercer show that the average Irish pension fund grew by 21.2% last year, after 5% growth in the final quarter.
Mercer's head of investment consulting Tom Geraghty said the growth was driven by exceptional returns from global stock markets.
But he warned that the improvement in the financial position of many defined benefit pension schemes may have been limited by declining bond yields. For pension funds, falling bond yields put upward pressure on the value of liabilities.
Standard Life Investments Managed Fund topped the growth list for Q4 and for the year, with growth of 6.1% and 23.9% respectively. Davy's Exempt Managed Fund was the worst performer in both cases, with 4% and 14.9% respectively.
