The recent falls in the Elan and AIB share prices have reduced the bottom line value of Irish pension funds by two per cent for the year to date, delegates attending Mercer's Annual Investment Conference in Dublin, were told today.
However, this loss is unlikely to threaten the solvency of Irish pension funds, according to Mercer Investment Consulting head Mr Tom Murphy.
Speaking at the conference, Mr Murphy, said those fund managers who were overweight in Elan and AIB have paid a high price in the last two weeks.
According to Mercer’s analysis of the current exposures of all fund managers in the market, AIB and Standard Life have been hardest hit while Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) has remained relatively unscathed.
In a review of fund manager performances in 2001, BIAM - which employs a conservative investment strategy based on picking undervalued stocks with a proven track record of profitability - topped the table for the second year in a row.
"This strong performance shows the investment strategy at BIAM has finally paid off, following poor performances in 1998 and 1999," Mr Murphy said.
Of the top ten Irish equities, Anglo Irish and Ryanair were the best performers in the ISEQ Index during 2001, with gains of 37.2 per cent and 23.5 per cent, respectively.
Irish Life and Permanent and Galen Holdings were the worst performers, with falls of 12.1 per cent and 16.6 per cent, respectively.