The Rehab Great Investment Race is past the halfway mark and Bank of Ireland Asset Management maintains pole position , writes Jane O'Sullivan.

April proved to be a good month for the Rehab Great Investment race.

The end of the war in Iraq coupled with a better-than-expected first-quarter earnings season in the US gave equity markets a bit of a lift and allowed three of the funds to post strong performances, while the other three remained broadly flat.

With less than six months of the race remaining, Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) remains firmly in the lead, with a gain of 35 per cent to date.

It again delivered the strongest showing in April, posting a return of 12.6 per cent as it sold its stake in Greencore, which had been the mainstay of its portfolio since the start of the race.

In its stead, fund manager Mr Chris Reilly bought Fyffes and Independent News & Media last month, retaining Independent shares into May.

But high marks also go to Montgomery Oppenheim and KBC Asset Management, the new entrants in this year's race, which clambered back from loss-making positions last month.

Montgomery Oppenheim logged a 10.2 per cent gain to leave its fund at end-April at €99,834, within sight of the €100,000 starting point.

Having confined its stock market exposure to its global equity fund in the early months of the race, the fund manager decided it was time to start taking a position in individual stocks.

"We looked for opportunities to add a bit of spice to the portfolio," says fund manager Mr Seamus Kelly. He plumped for France Telecom, which rewarded him with a 19 per cent gain, and Whitbread, which delivered a return of 15 per cent.

Mr Kelly plans to stick with a core exposure through the global equity fund, which gained around 8 per cent last month, while continuing to pursue selective stock opportunities.

KBC also enjoyed a strong recovery in April, returning to positive territory with a gain of 8.2 per cent.

Its fund stands at €100,250 and remains fully invested in equities through KBC's global equity fund, top picks fund and Far East fund.

"In March, our timing left a bit to be desired but we got it right last month," according to KBC's Mr David Green.

KBC plans to stick with its current strategy, predicting a further 5-10 per cent upside in markets from this point.

Despite the impact of the SARS crisis in Asia, KBC has not been prompted to reduce its 25 per cent holding of Asian equities.

"We believe a lot of it is already discounted," Mr Green says.

At the bottom end of the table, performances were more lacklustre.

Setanta Asset Management managed a gain of just 1 per cent last month, leaving it bringing up the rear of the race overall with a fund valued at €94,203.

It headed into May holding 15 per cent of its investment in cash with the remainder split between five stocks - Nokia, HSBC, Bank of Ireland, Ryanair and DCC.

Meanwhile, Hibernian's decision to stay in cash last month accounted for its miserly gain of 0.1 per cent.

The value of Irish Life's fund fell by 0.1 per cent as it made a loss on stocks such as Merck and McDonalds.

However, in overall terms, Irish Life remains in second place with a gain of 5.6 per cent in the race to date. It is followed by Hibernian with a return of 3.8 per cent.