Pension fund risk highlighted

Many Irish pension funds are exposed to very high levels of risk relative to the structure of the global equity market, a Dublin investment conference heard yesterday.

Montgomery Oppenheim head of equities, Mr Joe O'Dwyer, said the consensus investment strategy employed by many Irish fund managers - whereby funds are managed with reference to their peers - was not always the most effective, especially since most Irish pension funds retain a high exposure to the Irish equity market.