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Compare Nest pension
fund performance

Our Nest Retirement Date Funds work for most people, but we do have other options available. This page helps you compare our different funds, including past performance and industry risk.

Remember, there’s a difference between how your pension fund performs and the amount you’ll see in your pension pot. The fund performance details you’ll see here show you how our investment strategy for each fund is working. However, your pot is personal to you and your circumstances.

Past fund performance

We offer up to 50 Nest Retirement Date Funds, each at a slightly different phase of our investment strategy. These tables show you how the average Nest Retirement Date Fund in its growth phase performs against our other funds.

All our funds are invested responsibly and have the same low charges applied.

Five-year cumulative performance*

This is the total amount earned on money invested five years ago

Nest 2040 Retirement Date Fund (growth phase)	Nest Ethical Fund (growth phase)	Nest Higher Risk Fund	Nest Lower Growth Fund	Nest Sharia Fund
40.5%	33.1%	43.4%	9.5%	107.1%

Nest 2040 Retirement Date Fund (growth phase)	40.5%
Nest Ethical Fund (growth phase)	33.1%
Nest Higher Risk Fund	43.4%
Nest Lower Growth Fund	9.5%
Nest Sharia Fund	107.1%

Five-year annualised total return*

This is the average amount of money earned by this fund each year, over the last five years

Nest 2040 Retirement Date Fund (growth phase)	Nest Ethical Fund (growth phase)	Nest Higher Risk Fund	Nest Lower Growth Fund	Nest Sharia Fund
7.0%	5.9%	7.5%	1.8%	15.7%

Nest 2040 Retirement Date Fund (growth phase)	7.0%
Nest Ethical Fund (growth phase)	5.9%
Nest Higher Risk Fund	7.5%
Nest Lower Growth Fund	1.8%
Nest Sharia Fund	15.7%

Annual total performance*

This is the average amount of money earned by this fund since launch

Nest 2040 Retirement Date Fund (growth phase)	Nest Ethical Fund (growth phase)	Nest Higher Risk Fund	Nest Lower Growth Fund	Nest Sharia Fund
8.3%	8.9%	9.3%	1.0%	14.4%

Nest 2040 Retirement Date Fund (growth phase)	8.3%
Nest Ethical Fund (growth phase)	8.9%
Nest Higher Risk Fund	9.3%
Nest Lower Growth Fund	1.0%
Nest Sharia Fund	14.4%

What do these funds invest in?

Nest 2040 Retirement Date Fund (growth phase)	Nest Ethical Fund (growth phase)	Nest Higher Risk Fund	Nest Lower Growth Fund	Nest Sharia Fund
Excludes tobacco, controversial weapons, and in the process of excluding fossil fuel-related companies that won’t help us achieve net zero carbon emissions	Only invests in companies and investments that pass our ethical policy standards	Excludes tobacco, controversial weapons, and in the process of excluding fossil fuel-related companies who won’t help us achieve net zero carbon emissions	Only invests in bonds	Only invests in Sharia-compliant company shares and sukuk

Nest 2040 Retirement Date Fund (growth phase)	Excludes tobacco, controversial weapons, and in the process of excluding fossil fuel-related companies that won’t help us achieve net zero carbon emissions
Nest Ethical Fund (growth phase)	Only invests in companies and investments that pass our ethical policy standards
Nest Higher Risk Fund	Excludes tobacco, controversial weapons, and in the process of excluding fossil fuel-related companies who won’t help us achieve net zero carbon emissions
Nest Lower Growth Fund	Only invests in bonds
Nest Sharia Fund	Only invests in Sharia-compliant company shares and sukuk

*Figures correct as at 30 September 2024. Updated quarterly.

Our cumulative performance

In a nutshell, cumulative performance shows you how much money the investments in our funds have made over time. The chart below shows how much you’d have today if you’d invested just £1 in any of our funds five years ago, back in 2016. We compare this to a measure of inflation known as the Consumer Price Index, or CPI for short, which tracks the rising cost of living over time. This shows how most of our funds have been helping members’ money grow well above the rising cost of living for the last five years.

You're automatically enrolled into a Nest Retirement Date Fund when you join.

Nest 2040 Retirement Date Fund

If you'd invested £1 in this fund in 2017, your pot would be worth:

After 1 year: £0.96

After 2 years: £1.12

After 3 years: £1.21

After 4 years: £1.38

Today: £1.25

Nest Ethical Fund

If you'd invested £1 in this fund in 2017, your pot would be worth:

After 1 year: £1.05

After 2 years: £1.15

After 3 years: £1.16

After 4 years: £1.45

Today: £1.56

Nest Higher Risk Fund

If you'd invested £1 in this fund in 2017, your pot would be worth:

After 1 year: £1.01

After 2 years: £1.09

After 3 years: £1.00

After 4 years: £1.35

Today: £1.48

Nest Sharia Fund

If you'd invested £1 in this fund in 2017, your pot would be worth:

After 1 year: £1.00

After 2 years: £1.19

After 3 years: £1.29

After 4 years: £1.74

Today: £2.11

Nest Lower Growth Fund

If you'd invested £1 in this fund in 2017, your pot would be worth:

After 1 year: £1.00

After 2 years: £1.02

After 3 years: £1.02

After 4 years: £1.05

Today: £1.04

The value of investments may go down as well as up and the return of your investment is not guaranteed. Fluctuations in financial markets, currencies and other risks may cause fluctuations in the value of investments. Any fund objective or target should not be considered as a guarantee of performance of any fund.

Levels of investment risk

All pension providers take some investment risk to grow your pot. It’s measured by how volatile they are, which means how much your investments are likely to rise and fall in price, much like the price of fuel changes each time you go to the petrol pump.

In the context of a pension fund, taking more investment risk means you’re putting your money into something that has more unpredictable, sharp changes in price. Riskier funds have more opportunity to rise in value, so could make more of a profit. But as they’re more unpredictable, there’s a greater chance they’ll lose some of their value compared to other funds.

This chart shows how we believe Nest’s funds compare in annual volatility over the long term. The categories of 1 (very low risk) to 7 (very high risk) are set by the European Securities and Markets Authority.