Generally positive economic data pushed stock markets ahead in February helping Irish managed pension funds to record growth of almost 2 per cent despite mixed corporate results and volatile commodity prices.

Irish stocks were particularly bullish with the market adding 4.8 per cent over the four week and financials doing even better with monthly gains of 6.4 per cent.

Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) and Acorn Life were the strongest performers last month adding 2.3 per cent to the value of funds against an industry average of 1.9 per cent. The leaders were notably ahead of AIB Investment Managers (AIBIM) which returned growth of 1.4 per cent according to provisional figures released last night.

Fiona Daly, managing director of Rubicon Investment Consulting said European merger and acquisition activity had been a feature of market returns last month while Mercer senior investment consultant Noel Collins said that, added to January's 2.2 per cent average gain, pension fund performance in the year to date had been encouraging.

Over the last 12 months, pension funds have seen growth average 22.3 per cent with Standard Life topping its peers at 24.8 per cent and BIAM's 18.8 per cent propping up the table.

Irish funds have averaged 18.8 per cent each year over the last three years and all funds are now comfortably in the black on the five-year period which includes the market collapse following the bursting of the dotcom bubble.

Over the more representative 10-year term for pension investing, Oppenheim Investment Managers leads its rivals by some distance with annual returns of 13 per cent against an industry average of 10.2 per cent and AIBIM's 8.8 per cent.