Strong performance in the financial markets saw the value of Spanish pension plan portfolios increase by more than £1bn in July, analysis from the Association of Collective Investment Institutions and Pension Funds (Inverco) has revealed. 

The research showed that the value of Spanish pension assets had increased by 1.2 per cent, meaning that the volume of assets under management in the individual system reached €93.015bn. 

With year-on-year returns close to 5 per cent, Inverco found that it was the equity category that primarily stood out, with an increase of 8.8 per cent, whilst the mixed equity category recorded a return close to the average for plans of 4.4 per cent.  

This was also true over the longer term, as the equity category provided an average annual return of 12.3 per cent on a five-year basis.

However, Inverco found that virtually all categories achieved positive returns over all time frames, with pension plans recording an average annual return (net of expenses) of 3 per cent over 20 years and returns of 2.8 per cent and 3.8 per cent over the medium term (10 and 15 years), respectively.

Inverco also provided an estimate on recent contributions, suggesting that contributions of around €106m were made in July, whilst benefits hit €162m, bringing the net volume of benefits for the month to €56m.

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