NPRF reports negative return
24 July 2008

Written by Sophie Baker

The Irish National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) has reported a return of -12 per cent for the first half of 2008, bringing the fund’s value at the end of June to €19,462 million.

A fund spokesperson said these figures reflect the challenges the industry has faced as a result of the credit crunch and the rising price of commodities. However, the fund is showing a positive return of 3.8 per cent on an annualised basis from its inception in April 2001 to end June 2008, earning €3,433 million in excess of the contributions received from the Exchequer.

NPRF has the purpose of meeting as much as possible of the costs to the Exchequer of social welfare and public service pensions from 2025 until at least 2055, and is primarily focused on building up a diversified portfolio of equities and other real assets.

The NPRF has also published its Annual Report for 2007, which shows that the fund earned a return of 3.3 per cent in 2007, compared with the average Irish managed pension fund return of -3.7 per cent.