IRISH pension funds' assets grew by 19 per cent from £13.7 billion in 1994 to £16.3 billion in 1995. This upsurge is mainly due to an average increase in investment returns of 18.7 per cent, according to a survey from the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF).

Reflecting the buoyancy in the pensions' market, new net cash flow jumped from £492 million to £663 million. Investment in overseas equities accounted for 35 per cent of the total in 1995, up from 32 per cent in the previous year.

However, the survey stresses that this increase was mainly due to the strong performance of overseas equity markets, rather than a change in investment strategy.