Nearly nine in 10 higher-risk pension funds have failed to match the performance of the FTSE 100 over the past five years, according to new analysis that raises fresh concerns about retirement outcomes for millions of savers.
Research by Investing Insiders examined almost 13,000 personal and workplace pension funds holding more than £1tn in assets between December 31, 2020 and December 31, 2025. Funds in the medium-high and high-risk categories were benchmarked against the FTSE 100 over the same period.
The FTSE 100 delivered cumulative returns of 84.67 per cent over five years, turning £20,000 into £36,934 and £50,000 into £92,335.
By contrast, 89 per cent of pension funds in the higher-risk categories underperformed that benchmark. Of 7,370 funds analysed at these risk levels, 6,540 failed to keep pace with the index.
The worst-performing fund in the study, Zurich Assurance’s Zurich JPM Emerging Europe Equity Pn ZP GTR in GB, lost 98.59 per cent of its value over five years. A £50,000 investment in that fund would now be worth just £705 — more than £91,000 less than if the same sum had tracked the FTSE 100.
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