Rehab has more than doubled its money with four months to go, writesJane O'Sullivan, Markets Correspondent

Last month may well have determined the outcome of this year's Rehab Great Investment Race.

Mr Chris Reilly of Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) delivered a whopping 35 per cent return in May, putting clear water between himself and the other five fund managers in the race. As one of his rivals commented ruefully: "He looks to be out of sight at this stage."

Thanks to his strong performance, Rehab has more than doubled its money with four months of the race yet to go.

A good run in the share prices of Independent News & Media and McInerney were the main factors behind Mr Reilly's gains, taking his return in the race to date to nearly 83 per cent.

With a fund value of €182,849 at the end of May, things would have to go very badly wrong for BIAM if any of the other five fund managers were to have any chance of catching Mr Reilly who is contemplating taking a more conservative approach over the remainder of the race.

"We are quite a bit ahead in markets that are not that great and we don't want to lose it," he said.

Lying in second place overall, after delivering a creditable gain of 9.9 per cent on the month, is Montgomery Oppenheim. But its fund, worth €109,728, remains more than €70,000 adrift of BIAM's.

However, fund manager Mr Seamus Kelly is hoping to build on last month's gains by pursuing more stock-specific opportunities. After a cautious start, in which it divided its investment between its global equity fund and cash, Montgomery Oppenheim is increasingly opting for individual stocks which it expects to outperform.

This strategy was rewarded last month when its investment in Ahold returned 43 per cent.

In third place overall lies Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM)with a 3.4 per cent return last month and a gain of 9.1 per cent to date. ILIM's Mr Seamus Magner became the first fund manager in the race to invest in index futures when he put part of his portfolio into CAC futures in May.

Also opting for more exotic investments was Hibernian Investment Managers which switched out of cash and into Pacific Basin equities in May.

"We felt the trouble over SARS had run its course. That cloud had begun to dissipate and we felt the Pacific Basin would benefit and it did, to some extent," Hibernian's Mr Dara Fitzgerald said.

The Far East delivered a return of 2.9 per cent for Hibernian, leaving it with a portfolio worth €106,843.

KBC, which is also invested in Far East equities along with two other equity funds, managed a more modest gain of 0.1 per cent in May while Setanta racked up a loss of 1.4 per cent, leaving it to bring up the rear in the race at this stage.

Setanta's Mr Gary Connolly described May's performance, which leaves its fund worth €92,888, as "a big disappointment".

"There was good money to be made in certain stocks and in certain sectors, we just weren't in them," he said.

However, with four months still remaining he is hopeful that Setanta can recoup its losses and make some money for the Rehab Group.