AIB Investment Managers has topped the league table among employer-sponsored pension schemes in the Republic, according to the latest survey published by actuaries and consultants, Mercer and the Irish Pensions Trust.

AIB Investment Managers produced a return over the last five years of 16.2 per cent, when the average return for Irish pension funds in the period was 15.6 per cent.

The survey said the average return for employer-sponsored schemes last year was 18.6 per cent. The best performer during last year was Ulster Bank Investment Managers which produced a 21.5 per cent return.

The annual survey measures the performance of 200 pension funds with an asset base in excess of £16 billion (€20.31 billion). According to Ms Jennifer Richards from Mercer, pension managers which included technology stocks in their portfolios did better.

She said this can be illustrated using recent figures produced by Morgan Stanley. The total return on the US equity market was 28.8 per cent last year, with growth stocks returning 46.1 per cent, with "value stocks" returning just 13.1 per cent.

Last year three of the big pension scheme managers failed to meet the average of 18.6 per cent for the year. The three which failed to exceed the average performance were Montgomery Oppenheim (13 per cent), Irish Life (17.5 per cent) and Bank of Ireland Asset Managers (15.8 per cent).

When examined over three years, the best performer was Ulster Bank Investment Managers with 23.4 per cent, compared to the average three-year return of 21.9 per cent. The lowest were Irish Life (20.5 per cent) and Montgomery Oppenheim (20.2 per cent).