Investors who parked their money in funds under the Central Provident Fund Investment Scheme (CPFIS) heaved a small sigh of relief after a few quarters of negative performance.

CPFIS-included funds rose by 0.68 per cent on average in the three-month period ended June 30, research firm Lipper said.

"CPFIS funds experienced stronger growth in the second quarter of 2016," said Mr Xav Feng, head of Asia-Pacific research at Thomson Reuters Lipper.

"On a macro level, global markets have gradually rebounded, following the United Kingdom's referendum decision to leave the European Union, but an environment of uncertainty continues to prevail."

Unit trusts in the scheme increased by 0.34 per cent while investment-linked insurance products (ILPs) rose by 0.89 per cent. For all CPFIS-included funds, equities and bonds posted positive returns of 0.45 per cent and 1.39 per cent, while mixed-asset and money market funds grew by 0.95 per cent and 0.18 per cent. The performance is broadly consistent with trends in the global market during the same period.

The MSCI AC Asia ex-Japan index rose by 0.46 per cent, while the Citigroup World Government Bond Index (WGBI) grew by 3.36 per cent.

However, investors who held these funds for the 12 months till June this year experienced lacklustre results.

Lipper indicated that during this period, the overall performance of CPFIS-included funds fell by 5.94 per cent on average.

CPFIS-included unit trusts slid by 7.17 per cent on the year and CPFIS-included ILPs fell by 5.21 per cent on average.

A government-appointed panel reviewing the CPF has recommended introducing new retirement plans for CPF members here.

Aimed at giving accessible, low cost options to the general public, the funds are aimed at helping boost returns of the CPF savings.