IRELAND - Irish managed pension funds saw positive returns for the third month in a row to the end of May, and have now made gains since the beginning of the year, according to data from Rubicon Consulting.

Figures show Merrion is not the best performer among the managed funds as it returned 3.5% in May and has generated a positive return of 11% since the start of the year. This compares with a loss last year of 21.9%.

Closer analysis shows the average return in May among the 10 funds was 2.3%, though Eagle Star, Bank of Ireland Asset Management and Standard Life Investments returned just 1.6%.

Over the five months to the end of May, returns also ranged from the 11% gained by Merrion down to 0.8% by AIB Investment Managers, though there is still some way to go before all of the funds can boast a positive return per annum over five and 10 years.

Looking at returns over the last 12 months, the average fund has returned -25.7%, and no manager has outperformed the Irish inflation rate of 3.3% over 10 years as the average fund return is 0.2% over the decade and only half of managers saw positive gains in that period.

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