IRISH PENSION funds hit new lows in October, shedding 9.2 per cent of their value over the course of the month on average. The performance of group managed pension funds was even worse than in September when they slid 8.5 per cent - then the most dramatic one-month slump in over a decade.

The continuing stock market volatility - which saw the Iseq index lose 14.7 per cent last month and financials tumble by a record 35 per cent - means Irish managed pension funds are now worth one-third less than a year ago.

Two fund managers - Irish Life Investment Managers and AIB Investment Managers - lost more than 10 per cent of their worth. Even the strongest performer - Eagle Star - lost 8.5 per cent.

Fiona Daly, managing director of Rubicon Investment Consulting, said the 29.4 per cent loss recorded by Irish pension funds over the first 10 months of the year was "worrying". She added: "The average managed fund has shown an extremely disappointing return of -6 per cent per annum over the past three years."

Even over the past five years, the figures provide little cheer. Bank of Ireland Asset Managers has lost 0.5 per cent per annum over that time and KBC Asset Management (KBCAM) is also in the red over the same period.

The best-performing fund over the five-year term was again Eagle Star, with a return of 3.4 per cent per annum.

Over the 10-year term, only one fund manager - Merrion Investment Managers (formerly Oppenheim), with annual gains of 4 per cent - has managed to make a real return by bettering the average rate of inflation over the decade of 3.8 per cent. The average return of the 10 fund managers surveyed by Rubicon over the past decade was just 1.9 per cent, and KBCAM has managed to grow by just 0.3 per cent per annum in that time.