The asset side of local government pension schemes’ (LGPS) balance sheets is in good health, according to the latest performance analytics data.

Data from 60 LGPS funds compiled by Pensions & Investment Research Consultants (PIRC) revealed a huge return from equities – the largest allocation within most portfolios - as the markets surged ahead despite shocks such as the US election and Brexit.

PIRC also reported that performance has been ‘extremely strong’ over the medium and longer terms.

Over the last five years, the average fund returned 10.7% per annum while figures for the last 10 and 20 years were 7% and 7.4% respectively despite the period including the global financial crash.

Head of performance services at PIRC, Karen Thrumble, said: ‘The strong performance has been driven by the excellent results from equities, which returned almost 30% for the year.

‘The outperformance of benchmark indices by alternative assets was the key driver in the unusual statistic that more than three-quarters of funds managed to outperform their benchmarks in the latest year.’