Pension funds notched up further losses in the first three months of the year.Irish-managed funds have surrendered 4.9 per cent of their value on average in the first quarter, bringing the cumulative loss over the last 12 months to 23.4 per cent, according to figures produced yesterday by Buck

Consultants and Mercer. In 2002, pension funds fell by an average of 18.9 per cent.

The continuing decline in the pension fund performance means the average fund has now lost money in each of the last five years. By the time inflation is factored in, funds have lost between 6 and 7 per cent of their value each year over that period.

Among individual funds, only New Ireland, Montgomery Oppenheim and Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) have produced positive growth over the five years and the best of these, New Ireland, saw a return of 1.1 per cent per annum over the period - well below the rate of inflation.

The worst performer over five years was Allied Irish Banks Investment Managers, with a loss of 3.9 per cent per annum over the period, compared with an average loss of 2.2 per cent.

"Equity markets experienced another volatile period during the first quarter of 2003," said Buck Consultants head of investment consulting Ms Fiona Daly. While markets rallied on the realisation in March that war was inevitable, the prospect of a prolonged conflict had undermined that drive, she said.

The best performing fund in the period was Irish Life's new global access fund, with a loss of just 3.4 per cent. Of more established funds, Eagle Star topped the table with a loss of 4.2 per cent. The worst performer was Aberdeen Asset Management, which gave up 6.4 per cent in the three months.

Over the 12 months, BIAM's loss of 20.1 per cent put it marginally ahead of New Ireland, which Bank of Ireland also owns, at 20.4 per cent. KBC Asset Management came last losing more than a quarter of its funds in the year, down 27.8 per cent.

"The severity of the situation is illustrated in the five-year figures, where performance returns have obviously failed to meet the rate of inflation," said Mr Tom Murphy, head of Mercer Investment Consulting. However, he pointed to the longer term performance, with an annual gain of 8.7 per cent for the average fund over the last 10 years, thanks to the exceptional stock market growth in the mid to late-1990s.