British pension funds returned a median 21.6% last year, more than twice what they returned in 2004, according to a Mellon Analytical Solutions report summary released today. The funds returned a median 10.2% in 2004, according to an MAS press release.
Balanced pooled funds returned a median 5.3% in the fourth quarter, down from 6.2% for the same period in 2004, according to the summary. "Since the end of the equity bear market in early 2003, balanced pooled funds have been fighting their way back," Daniel Hall, Mellon Analytical Solutions' publications and statistics manager, said in the release. "Strong equity performance throughout 2005 has meant that these funds have now finally got ahead of their position at the start of the decade."
U.K. equities returned a median 21.7% in 2005, and overseas equities, 26.9%, according to the summary.
The MAS report covers 77 asset management firms overseeing a total of £410 billion ($730 billion) in pooled funds.
