| Finance Bill fails to fully deliver for international sector |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| The Finance Act 2006 should have marked a watershed as a nationwide international financial service industry emerges from the IFSC umbrella. Whilst containing some welcome features, it failed to act in a number of key areas and even more disappointingly made unannounced changes which have left many investors wondering what other planks for inward investment policy might disappear overnight, writes Brian Daly. |
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| Financing management buy-outs |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| Management buy-outs (MBOs) are an attractive way of taking over a business, as a large proportion of the capital can be financed via debt. |
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| First speech for new regulator |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| Newly appointed chief executive of the Financial Regulator, Patrick Neary, is to make his first appearance in front of a financial services audience at the forthcoming Finance Dublin Conference on March 28th and 29th in Dublin Castle. Neary, who took up his new role in early February, will set out the Regulator’s agenda going forward, touching on key areas of interest such as the on-going consultation process on the Fitness & Probity of Directors’ regime. |
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| Light at the end of the tunnel |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| Although the financial services industry is still understandably shaken by the decision in Budget 2006 to abolish the remittance basis of taxation, light hopefully is beginning to emerge at the end of the tunnel. As reported on page 1, Ireland’s leading tax advisers are currently working on proposals to dilute the impact of the decision on the financial services industry, and the IDA is also making representations with the Department of Finance on the issue. |
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| Move from defined benefit schemes gains pace |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| Ireland’s employers are increasingly moving from defined benefit (DB) pension schemes, to defined contribution (DC) schemes, with the public sector expected to account for the majority of DB schemes going forward. |
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| New head for BOIGM |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| Austin Jennings is to replace Mick Sweeney as chief executive of Bank of Ireland Global Markets. Sweeney was recently appointed deputy chief executive of the bank’s Asset Management Division(AMS), and chief executive of Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM). |
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| New performance standards represent a major opportunity for the Irish fund management industry |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| Ireland, under the sponsorship of the Irish Association of Investment Managers (IAIM), became the very first country to adopt the Global Investment Performance Standards (GIPS) standards in May 2001, when the Investment Performance Council (IPC), an international industry-based group overseeing performance standards development, formally approved the Irish standard at its Los Angeles meeting. Five years on, Irish investment managers have just adopted a revised and updated version of the standards, which will remove barriers to accessing clients in other jurisdictions, and which represents a major opportunity for the Irish fund management industry, writes Joe Kavanagh. |
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| New private bank to increase options for high net worth sector |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| High net worth individuals in Ireland are looking for greater investment diversification, and a new joint venture between one Dublin firm and Deutsche Bank, will give them access to global opportunities in more esoteric investment products such as CLOs. |
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| Nominations for ‘Deal of the Year’ 2006 |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| The nominations for the FINANCE ‘Deal of the Year’ 2006, which are chosen by a panel of corporate financiers to reflect the best and most innovative deals of the past year. We look at why these deals were nominated, and also the key trends in Ireland’s corporate finance market over the past year, such as an increase in diversification, as corporates look to expand their product offering. |
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| NPRF ups allocation to alternatives |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| The National Pension Reserve Fund, which was established in 2001 to supplement the current public pension system from 2025 until at least 2055, returned 19.6 per cent in 2005, taking its total value to E15.4 billion, or 11.5 per cent of gross national product. |
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| Pensions caps |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| The Finance Act has imposed punitive tax on pension provision in excess of certain limits; capped the maximum tax free lump sum that can be taken from a pension scheme; imposed effective payout requirements on ARFs; but has improved the funding rates permitted by older persons. |
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| Poland offers opportunities to Irish investors |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| Brian O’Neill explains the dynamics of the Polish economy, the potential of the residential property market, and how to capitalise on these factors, using the various investment options available to Irish investors. |
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| Professionals look to change jobs in buoyant marketplace |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| Irish financial services professionals are most inclined to switch jobs, with 61 per cent of respondents to a poll conducted by recruitment firm Joslin Rowe, saying that they plan to move jobs within 3-6 months, compared with 58 per cent in London and 53 per cent in Scotland. Just five per cent said that they would definitely not consider moving jobs. |
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| Property deals fueled growth in market in 2005 |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| 2005 proved to be a highly active year for Irish M&A transactions with a recent survey data showing the value of deals executed rose by 19 per cent to more than E11 billion, writes Fergal McAleavey. The year saw a trend towards fewer but larger transactions, and growth was helped by general positive sentiment among investors and supportive market conditions, such as low interest rates and strong property prices. |
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| Solutions to the remittance tax issue to emerge |
Issue: 03 / 2006 |
| Following on from the move in Budget 2006 to abolish the remittance basis of taxation for foreign employees, and the recent publication by The Revenue Commissioners of guidelines on the issue, Ireland’s leading taxation experts are to put forward potential solutions to the problem, which are aimed at enabling Ireland to remain an attractive location for international financial services professionals. |
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