An average return of 2.01 per cent was achieved in the first quarter (Q1) of 2021 by Austria’s occupational pension funds, according to analysis by Mercer.

Analysis by Mercer shows that APK and the BONUS pension funds took the two top spots. It said that the positive return was due to the markets being able to match the performance seen at the turn of the year.

“In summary, we saw a good start to the first quarter. Equities got off the starting blocks very well and are among the biggest winners of the quarter,” Mercer Austria head, Michaela Plank, said.

Bonds, which had fallen to an all-time low in the course of the pandemic and due to the highly expansive monetary policy of the central banks, remained largely at the low levels, she added. In March, however, an increase in yields for bonds with longer maturities was observed, beginning in the USA, although historically low levels can still be assumed.

Mercer said this has prompted the majority of pension funds to increase the proportion of private markets in their respective strategic orientations in 2021 in order to counteract the even longer period of low-interest rates.

For the next few months, the framework conditions for a good economic development are still favourable, whereby the development of the capital markets will also depend heavily on the American central banks, Mercer stated.

Share Story: