Table of Contents

Best Performing Standard Life Funds (5 years)

Worst Performing Standard Life Funds (5 years)

Compare Popular Standard Life Pension Funds

FAQs

When you reach retirement age, you don’t want to find yourself in the same situation as tens of thousands of people in Ireland who have been contributing to the wrong pension fund. 

We all want the best pension possible, but comparing funds can be tricky – especially with the sheer number of funds available. To make this process that bit easier, we will outline the best and worst performing funds from Standard Life over the past five years. 

If you want to compare more funds or find out how your fund is performing in real time, check out our dedicated page for Standard Life on our pension fund comparison tool here, which has all the key data on every one of the provider’s funds.

We have not included fees or charges below, and we highly recommend consulting a financial advisor to discuss charges, risk and performance to find the most suitable fund for you.

Over the past five years, some of Standard Life’s top performing funds have reached growth levels of around 100%, whereas others, listed below, have recorded negative growth. 

The provider’s best performing funds have been portfolios which have a high allocation of equities in North America, the UK and the Eurozone.

The best performing Standard Life funds over the period analysed have volatility ratings of 5 or 6, indicating that the majority are higher risk funds.

The worst performers are mostly portfolios comprising bonds and property. The underperforming funds with high allocations of bonds tend to have risk ratings of 4, based on analysis over the past five years.

Comparing Standard Life’s MyFolio Active Funds

Among the most popular Standard Life pension funds in Ireland are those included in its MyFolio Active range.

The range is made up of funds listed as ‘Article 8’ under the European Union’s Sustainable Finance Disclosure, which means that they promote social and/or environmental characteristics.

Pension Fund  Fund Category Fund Explorer Page
Standard Life MyFolio Active I Managed Defensive (<35% Equity) View Fund
Standard Life MyFolio Active II Managed Defensive (<35% Equity) View Fund
Standard Life MyFolio Active III Managed Balanced (<65% Equity) View Fund
Standard Life MyFolio Active IV Managed Balanced (<65% Equity) View Fund
Standard Life MyFolio Active V Managed Aggressive (>65% Equity) View Fund 

FAQs

You can compare Standard Life pension funds by looking for the individual fact sheet of each fund, or by visiting our Fund Explorer which allows you to compare every fund’s performance. Risk and management fees are other considerations to bear in mind when comparing funds.

There are dozens of Standard Life pension funds available with varying degrees of risk and asset allocations. These include funds that are more heavily weighted to equities, bonds, or property.

The best pension fund for you might not be the best pension fund for someone else, as everyone’s circumstances and risk tolerance is different. Speaking to a financial advisor will help you make the best possible decision.

We recommend reviewing your pension at least every five years to make sure that you are not investing in a fund that has been underperforming over a number of years.

Past performance cannot guarantee future returns, but it is also important to consider performance when choosing a pension fund, along with other factors such as risk and charges.

It is generally possible to access a 25% tax-free lump sum from your Standard Life pension in Ireland, provided it is not a public service pension or your current employer’s occupational pension. For PRSAs, you can take out a lump-sum from the age of 60.