Financial services firm IFG said its Irish business continued to deliver steady performance in the first quarter of the year, with its corporate pensions division achieving good growth.

In an interim management statement this morning, the company said its corporate pensions division had secured 16 new clients in the first three months of the year, bringing to more than 500 the numbers of schemes and funds under management to €810 million.

On a group basis, IFG said it continued to make progress driven by sound business fundamentals.

“Although our businesses are not directly exposed to investment market movements, an improvement in investor sentiment has led to more positive conditions for the wider UK wealth management market,” the statement said.

The company said its financial position was solid, with cost control remaining a priority for the firm.

“While the near term outlook for earnings growth is constrained by the effect of prior year attrition and the lag effect of new business in James Hay Partnership along with investment spend and the low profitability of our non-core businesses, we are confident of delivering growth in the medium term,” the firm said in a statement.