Market turmoil drags on pension funds

IRISH investors suffered a double whammy yesterday, with the ISEQ starting the week with a fresh decline and new figures showing recent dramatic falls in domestic pension fund values.

The latest data from Rubicon Investment Consulting shows that the turmoil on the international stock markets over the past month drove a dramatic decline in Irish managed pension funds, during August, with combined losses of 5.9%.

Over the past eight months, Irish pension funds have lost 8.4% in average value and 3.2% in the past five years. Irish Life Investment Managers was the worst performer last month (with a 7.8% loss), while Canada Life/Setanta Asset Management was the best performer, with a 3.6% loss.