Pension Fund Statistics – Q3 2021

Publication Date: January 6 2022

Key Points

• Total asset values of the Irish pension fund sector grew by 0.4 per cent over Q3-2021 to stand at €129.8 billion. Increases in investment fund shares (€616 million) and debt securities (€100 million) accounted for the bulk of asset growth. This rise was offset by a fall in holdings of pension fund reserves (€576 million). Despite the fall, pension fund reserves continue to be the largest asset holding, standing at €51.5 billion. [1]
•  Irish pension funds held €15.6 billion worth of debt securities at the end-Q3 2021. The majority of holdings are invested in government bonds (€12 billion), followed by corporate bonds (€3 billion), structured notes (€340 million) and collateralised securities (€226 million). [2]     

• Holdings of investment funds stood at €48.9 billion at end-Q3 2021. The primary issuer country for investment funds was Ireland (77%), while those issued in Luxembourg accounted for 10.5% of holdings. This was followed by the United States (5.1%) and the Cayman Islands (3.3%).
  

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[1] Under ESA 2010 statistical classifications, unit-linked insurance products (ULIPs) are captured under the term Pension fund reserves. In Ireland, Pension fund reserves are primarily composed of ULIPs.

Summary Charts

Chart 1: Total assets of Irish pension funds by instrument type

Chart 2: Irish pension funds' holdings of debt securities- Q3 2021

Notes: Data relates to detailed reporting population covering approximately 75 per cent of assets in the sector.

*Structured notes and Collateralised securities: Please see explanatory notes.

Chart 3: Irish pension funds' investment fund holdings, by country of issuance- Q3 2021

Other (ordered by largest to smallest holdings): Belgium, Germany, Japan, Australia, Switzerland, Jersey, Singapore, Spain, France, Virgin Islands, Hong Kong, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Italy, and Mauritius.

Notes: Data relates to detailed reporting population covering approximately 75 per cent of assets in the sector.
Issuer Country:  Please see explanatory notes.

 

Further Information