Irish funds back in the black
6 May 2009
Written by Sophie Baker
At last some positive news for Irish Pension funds, with
Hewitt’s monthly Managed Fund Index reporting that the month of
April 2009 returned 8.7 per cent.
The global human resources services company released the monitor, which
is an indicator of Irish Pension Managed Fund performance, which shows
a continuing increase in returns, with March figures standing at 2.6 per
cent.
“The Hewitt Managed Fund Index posted its second consecutive positive
monthly performance in April 2009, returning +8.7 per cent for the month,”
said Brian Delaney, investment consultant at Hewitt Associates. “After
March’s positive return of 2.6 per cent, the return for the last
two months is over ten per cent, clawing back the losses of January and
February.
“Following a very difficult start to the year, with global equity
markets declining by over 20 per cent in many cases by mid-March, we have
experienced a strong rally in the past six weeks. This has largely been
driven by investors beginning to look past the current recessionary malaise
for initial signs of recovery.”
However, Delaney warned that complacency is not an option. “We believe
any extended recovery will take time to develop and expect economic data
over the next twelve months to show continued weakness. However, there
are initial indications that the pace of the decline across global economies
is decelerating.”
Investment consultant Rubicon also reported the positive performance,
which it says has moved pension funds into the black for the first time
this year.
Irish Life Investment Managers was the best performing manager during
April, returning 11.3 per cent, while AIB Investment Managers recorded
the worst performance with a return of seven per cent.
