A move into high-growth telecom, technology and oil stocks during 1999 has paid dividends for pension fund manager Montgomery Oppenheim, whose 31.8 per cent return last year was way ahead of other Irish fund managers.

The strong 1999 performance from Montgomery Oppenheim consolidates the company's position as the top-performing pension fund manager over one, three and five-year periods, according to Combined Performance Measurement Service (CPMS).

Pension fund performances are best established over longer periods and, in the key five-year period, Montgomery's 22 per cent annual return compares with a CPMS average of 20.8 per cent.

Ulster Bank Investment Managers with 21.6 per cent and Standard Life with 21.3 per cent were the next best performers over that more important five-year period.

Worst performer over five years, according to CPMS, was Irish Life with an annual return of 19 per cent.

It should be noted, however, that the five-year figures do not include any performance figures from Hibernian Investment Managers, Friends First or Eagle Star, which were not classified as CPMS main managers prior to 1998.

Montgomery's 31.8 per cent return last year compared with an average of 20.2 per cent, a next best performance of 21.4 per cent from Friends First and a worst performance of 16.2 per cent from Irish Life.