EAGLE Star (Balanced) was the best performing managed pension fund in the first four months of this year, according to a survey by Irish Pensions Trust. It grew by 9.9 per cent, compared with an average of 8.8 per cent for the 15 funds in the survey.

The second best performing fund was Equitable Life, with a growth of 9.8 per cent. The worst was ESB Fund Managers, with 7.2 per cent.

Eagle Star was also the best over a 12 month period, with a growth of 31.6 per cent. The worst was Hibernian Life with 22.8 per cent.