Irish pension funds bounced back last month after suffering losses in October. The average Irish managed pension fund recorded growth of 3.7 per cent in November.

The gain on the back of a positive performance by equity markets brought the funds' growth in the year to date close to 17 per cent on average and over the last 12 months to 19.3 per cent.

Standard Life has been the best performer so far this year according to figures from benefits consultants Mercer, adding 19.2 per cent to the value of its funds. That was a full five percentage points ahead of Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM), which again props up the table in terms of performance over the short term.

Equity returns in November were driven by a generally strong set of third-quarter corporate results along with the continuing mergers and acquisitions activity and a retreat in oil prices.

Over the longer five-year period, BIAM's value-driven approach sees it lead its peers with a annual return of 4 per cent, double the industry average. However, KBC Asset Management trails other fund managers as it struggles to recover from the burst technology bubble. It is still recording losses of 0.6 per cent a year over the five-year timeframe.

Over the 10-year period more relevant in assessing pension performance, Mercer said funds showed average growth of 9.8 per cent well ahead of inflation, which averaged 3 per cent over that period.