Strong third-quarter corporate earnings and continuing activity on the mergers and acquisitions front saw group managed pension funds consolidate gains in October.

The average Irish fund grew by 2.6 per cent last month though there was a significant range in returns. Oppenheim reported a 3.2 per cent advance considerably ahead of the 1.4 per cent return at Canada Life/Setanta.

The returns came as Irish and global stock markets reported monthly increases of more than 3 per cent.

So far this year Irish funds have recorded average returns of just under 10 per cent. The experience of the asset management operations in that time has been very different. AIB Investment Managers has marginally outperformed its peer group with a gain of 10.5 per cent in 2006, just ahead of Hibernian Investment Managers (10.4 per cent) and both Eagle Star and Standard Life on 10.3 per cent. Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) propped up the table with a return of just 6.9 per cent.

Over the last 12 months, funds have grown assets by an average of 17.1 per cent. The average was held back by relatively poor performances at BIAM and, more particularly, Canada Life/Setanta, which gained just 12.7 per cent over the period compared to 19.2 per cent at Standard Life. Over the five-year period, which still includes the impact of the bursting of the dotcom bubble, Eagle Star is the strongest performer in the market, with annual returns of 8.3 per cent over the period.

This compares to an industry average of 7 per cent and and 5.3 per cent per annum returns reported by KBC Asset Managers at the bottom of the table.

The longer-term, which is more relevant to pension investment, sees Oppenheim leading it rivals with an average return of 12.5 per cent each year for the past decade.