| Gill takes over from Hunt at Goodbody |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| Joe Gill has been appointed research director with Goodbody Stockbrokers, assuming the research role of Colin Hunt, who left in November last year to take up a position as special advisor to the Minister for Transport, Martin Cullen. |
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| Harmonising prudential and financial reporting requirements across Europe |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| The recent introduction of the new International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) and the impending implementation of the new Capital Requirements Directive (CRD) provide the Committee of European Banking Supervisors (CEBS) - established in 2003 - with the ideal opportunity to harmonise reporting requirements across Europe, writes Debra McCarthy. |
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| Irish managed funds are over-invested in Irish equities |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| There’s no doubt about it – Irish equities have been the ‘good thing’ in terms of equity investment over the last ten years. In that period, our little market has managed to outperform global equities by a massive 13 per cent per annum, with out-performance registered in nine of the last ten years, writes Grainne Alexander. However, she believes that pension managed funds have reached the stage where they have become ‘unbalanced’, with allocation to Irish equities back up towards the 20 per cent level, and she recommends a broader geographical approach to investing. |
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| Market Abuse Directive is ‘ambiguous and lacks direction’ |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| Information is becoming increasingly available regarding the impact of International Financial Reporting Standards (IFRS) on European listed companies. In certain EU member states, for example - Germany, Switzerland, Belgium and Luxemburg – a high proportion of companies are already adopting IFRS. In others, for example – UK, Ireland, France, Spain and Italy – companies have not as yet implemented IFRS, writes Brendan Sheridan, as legislative requirements do not permit financial statements to be prepared in accordance with IFRS prior to 2005. |
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| NCB opens London office |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| NCB has become the first Irish stockbroking firm to establish an institutional presence in the London market. NCB head of equities Tommy Conway said the company was taking advantage of the opportunity to establish itself as an Irish broker with a European perspective. The London branch will be responsible for producing research coverage of the key FTSE 100 sectors and stocks. This research will be made available to the member firms of European Securities Network (ESN) and their domestic continental clients as well as selling to the UK. |
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| New head at IACT |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| Patrick King, group financial accountant and treasurer with Jurys Doyle, has been elected president of the Irish Association of Corporate Treasurers (IACT). He assumes the role from James Ryan, academic director at DCU. King joined Jurys in March 1990 as a trainee accountant and has since held various roles within the organisation. He was responsible for the opening of Jurys Inn Christchurch in 1993 and over the following two years he held a number of finance positions with the Group in the UK. |
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| New private property company launched |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| Ciaran McNamara, a former director with Investec Ireland, and Enda Woods, a member of Investec’s private banking team, have set up a new company, Signature Capital, specialising in the sourcing, structuring and financing of asset backed investments. |
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| NPRF shuns hedge funds due to ‘lack of regulation’ |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| Last August the €11.7 billion National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF) declared its desire to invest in hedge funds. However, it has now shunned these funds due to ‘the rapid growth in the asset class which could crowd out successful strategies, the difficulties in identifying consistent top quartile managers and the lack of regulation of the sector.’
Pictured at the launch of its annual report are (l-r): Michael J. Somers, CEO National Treasury Management Agency and Donal Geaney, chairman of the National Pension Reserve Fund. |
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| Numerous opportunities exist for international sector to develop further says new report |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| Last February the IDA appointed Deloitte to conduct a review of Ireland’s international financial services sector and to identify possible threats and opportunities for the sector going forward. Paul Reck summarises the final report, which was published in December, and which highlights five main opportunities for growth. |
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| RSM partners set up new investment advisory firm Chiltern |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| The former managing partner of RSM Robson Rhodes Ireland, Raymond O’Neill, along with two other former partners of the chartered accountancy firm, David Butler and Julian Korek, are establishing a new global investment management advisory firm. Over the last five years, the three established a financial services group at Robson Rhodes. |
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| Share certificates soon to be a thing of the past |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| A working group has been established to commence the process towards dematerialisation of the securities of listed entities in Ireland. Dematerialisation involves the removal of paper certificates from the issuance, securities trading and post trade processing cycles of securities admitted to trading on the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE). The move follows developments in other markets, with the UK now currently on track to achieve dematerialisation of its market. |
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| Strong Irish pension fund asset growth still outpaced |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| Assets held by Irish institutional pension funds outperformed their European peers in 2004, growing by almost 10 per cent, but this was still not sufficient to match the increase in fund liabilities recorded during the year, according to a report from Watson Wyatt. |
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| The stars are well aligned for a bumper mergers and acquisitions market in 2005 |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| All the ingredients are in place for a bumper mergers and acquisitions market this year, writes Peter Crowley, as confidence, liquidity, and the desire to exit or expand ventures conspire to create the ideal environment for deal making. He says that the primary driver of activity is undoubtedly the combination of a 'hot' LBO debt market, with an unprecedented ‘wall’ of private equity, both institutional and private. |
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| US private placement market allows corporate borrowers to optimise their financial flexibility |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
| Over the past 24 months, seven Irish corporates have completed US private placements with a total value of $2.9 billion. James Lidierth and Andrew Fitzpatrick examine how the US private placement market has enabled Irish corporates to raise finance from US institutional investors on highly competitive terms. |
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| Who’s who in Finance: Paul Droop, Senior investment consultant, Watson Wyatt LLP |
Issue: 02 / 2005 |
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