European Monetary Union will have a major impact on Irish pensions and will require a reassessment of long-term investment strategies, the chairman of the Irish Association of Pension Funds (IAPF), Mr Paul O'Faherty, has stated.

Speaking at the launch of a new IAPF guide, The Euro and Pensions, Mr O'Faherty said the weighting of Irish equities held by pension funds was likely to fall after EMU "as the elimination of exchange risk will encourage Irish investment managers to spread their risk and increase their exposure to European stocks. It is to be hoped that compensatory inward investment will make it a soft landing for the Irish equity market," said Mr O'Faherty.