We wanted to get a view of the whole 30 sectors as if they were a portfolio held by the UK saver. We therefore took the average return produced by each sector over the past ten years and using the weighting of that sector’s size in comparison to the whole amount of money invested we worked out (click here to see the calculations) a weighted return achieved by the pension fund industry. The result is a total return amounting to 21.793%.

We believe that this compares poorly to virtually any other option that investors could have pursued. If one compares the average Unit Trust (or OEICs), Investment Trust or ETF the returns are much higher. Cash is higher; you would have been better off sitting in cash.

Is this a typical ten year period? No, although it may not be as untypical as one may think, but what is unarguable is that whilst this has been a very difficult decade for investors generally, the managers who should be the skilled navigators for savers through these waters, have produced a devastating impact: they have made things worse. Pension fund management has failed.