Irish pension funds delivered a positive performance during March, for the first time since August 2008, as signs of economic recovery began to emerge. The annual average return over the past ten years is at -0.9% compared with inflation at 3.4%.

"While this recent upturn is to be welcomed, it is too early to know if this signals the bottom of the market," said Fiona Daly, Managing Director, Rubicon Investment Consulting.

Over the month, the average fund delivered a positive return of 2.4%. Merrion Investment Managers was the best performing manager during March, with a return of 3.6%. AIB Investment Managers delivered the worst performance over the month, with a return of 1.0%. Over the first quarter of 2009, however, returns are still negative with the average fund having declined 5.2% over this period. In the three months to the end of March, returns ranged from -3.0% (Merrion Investment Managers) to -7.3% (AIB Investment Managers).

Over the past twelve months, the average fund returned -30.2%, with returns ranging from -25.5% (Eagle Star) to -34.6% (Aviva Investors).

Daly says the average managed fund return has been an extremely disappointing -13.6% per annum over the past three years. The five year returns to the end of March are also negative, with the average managed fund delivering a return of -2.5% per annum over this period. Irish group pension managed fund returns over the past ten years have been a very disappointing -0.9% per annum on average, well below the Irish inflation rate of 3.4% per annum over the same time horizon.  None of the managers surveyed outperformed inflation over this period, with only Merrion Investment Managers delivering positive returns.

The majority of Irish private sector workers do not have an occupational pension.