1st Quarter, 2026

The year began on a relatively constructive note, with resilient economic data helping risk assets push higher and major equity indices in the U.S. and Europe reaching new record highs. However, in March, escalating tensions in the Middle East led global markets to sharply reprice geopolitical and policy risks. That early positive momentum was quickly undone, driving a sharp rally in oil and gas prices, reigniting inflation fears and triggering a broad cross-asset sell-off across financial markets.

March was a challenging month for markets. Both equities and government bonds came under pressure, while commodity markets stood out as the clear winner.

In this geopolitical environment, pension funds were also affected by the economic shock.

For the first quarter of 2026, the Balanced (AMBAL) and Conservative (AMCON) funds recorded negative returns of -0.69% and -0.28%, respectively. The Fixed Income (AMFIX) fund maintained positive performance, closing the quarter with a return of 1.04%.

Local fixed income remained the main source of positive performance, particularly Armenian government bonds, followed by deposits and Armenian corporate bonds.

Amid the latest geopolitical shocks, foreign pocket efficiency was weakest in the major developed-market equity sleeves, with Europe and North America equities generating the largest negative contributions and the most adverse implied returns.

The AUM of Balanced (AMBAL), Conservative (AMCON) and Fixed Income (AMFIX) funds amounted more than 777 billion AMD as of March 31, 2026, about 194 billion AMD of which, about 25%, was generated from the income.

Since inception, the average annual return of the Amundi-Acba pension funds for the reported quarter ranged from 7.3% to 8.0%, depending on the fund type*.