| Editorial: Traditional Social Partnership would be a far better option than Benchmarking |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| Social partnership is generally seen as a key positive process within the context of the general equilibrium model that, led by individuals such as Bertie Ahern and Bill Attlee, gave rise to the Celtic Tiger(1). The result was a Laffer Curve(2) effect, whereby everyone gained public sector workers, private sector workers, the Exchequer and the economy. |
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| Funds rise in prominence in Europe as treasurers benefit from earning an enhanced yield on surplus cash |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| Liquidity funds have been a popular investment tool in the US for over 30 years, and the market for this niche treasury product has grown to over $2 trillion. Now, such products are becoming available in Europe, writes John O’Farrell, and are an attractive tool for treasurers looking to earn an enhanced yield on their surplus cash, whilst enjoying same day access to those funds. |
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| Going global from Dublin – with a little help from the locals |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| The arrival of PI Investment Management Limited (PIIML), a subsidiary of Australian fund manager Perpeutal Trustees Australia Limited (Perpetual), caused quite a stir when it announced last September that it would be setting up a global equities business in Dublin - and poaching a number of senior fund managers from Bank of Ireland Asset Management to run it. A year down the line, the furore surrounding the move has disappeared, and the team are getting on with what they know best – managing money. Head of the Irish business, Rory MacIntyre, tells Fiona Reddan why Perpetual came to Dublin, and what they hope to achieve there. |
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| Increase in pension provision will drive growth in fund management industry |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| One of the worst bear markets in history has hit fund managers hard, Daniel Broby, chief invstment officer of Denmark’s third largest fund mnager BankInvest, told attendees at a seminar in Dublin on ‘The State of the Fund Management Industry’. However, he added that Europe’s aging population is putting pressure on pension provision, and he expects huge asset flows into the business as a result. |
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| Investors turn to CFDs for gearing |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| Irish investors are turning to Contracts for Difference (CFDs) in increasing numbers for leverage, writes Martin Cass, as these instruments offer investors the opportunity to get anywhere between 5 and 10 times gearing at very attractive funding rates. Another advantage of trading CFDs is that they allow the investor to go 'short' on stocks, as well as enabling them to do a ‘pairs trade'. |
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| ISE optimistic on growth prospects for IEX |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| On April 12th, 2005, the Irish Stock Exchange (ISE) launched its new market, the Irish Enterprise Exchange (IEX), which is designed to meet the needs of small to mid-sized companies. |
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| Leading writer to lead two entry level seminars on securitisation at conference |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| Finance Dublin will offer an expanded educational programme on 28th November 2005 at The Finance Dublin Securitisation Conference 2005 in the form of ‘Securitisation 100 - Introduction to Securitisation’ and ‘Securitisation 200 - Advanced Securitisation’. These seminars are being chaired by Dr. Moorad Choudhry, Head of Treasury of KBC Financial Products, London, and Visiting Professor, Department of Economics, London Metropolitan University, and Visiting Research Fellow, ISMA Centre, University of Reading. |
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| Majority of staff are graduates, but on-the-job training is also a way into industry |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| While a degree is not essential to pursue a career in funds, the majority of people (83p.c.) working in the Irish industry do. The other route into the industry is to get on-the-job training at entry-level, says Deirdre Norris. |
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| More News... |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| Awards for stockbrokers, Property derivatives are next major asset class, Pension revamp at An Post, Credit derivatives hit the mainstream.... |
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| NTMA holds Irish bond auction |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| On September 15th, the National Treasury Management Association (NTMA) held its first bond auction since June 2004. The auction, which was confined to the NTMA’s nine recognised primary dealers, was for €600 million of the 4.5p.c. Treasury Bond 2020, the NTMA’s bond with the longest maturity. |
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| Pension Threat? |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| Two separate reviews of the tax treatment of pension provision are under way. The ‘tax cost’ of the tax treatment of pensions may be misunderstood. The real problem may be under provision of pensions. |
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| Pressure to open up retail hedge fund markets will persist says new report |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| Europe is slowly coming around to the idea of retail hedge funds. In Luxembourg, retail investors now have access to hedge funds, provided the funds are approved by the local regulator, and last year, the Irish regulator abolished its minimum investment limits for Irish retail investors in fund of hedge funds. France is also easing access to retail investors with a minimum investment threshold of �10,000 for fund-of-hedge-funds. Ken Owens provides an overview of these and other regulatory and fiscal developments around Europe, drawing on PwC's new white paper, 'The Regulation and Distribution of Hedge Funds in Europe'. |
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| The changing face of cash management – from cash investment to portfolio management |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| The concept of cash management for corporate treasurers has changed significantly in recent years, writes Pat Leavy. Traditionally, corporates saw cash management in terms of surplus cash investment and its main components such as security and liquidity, and the concept of 'portfolio' management related to the construction of investment portfolios. Now however, corporates consider the total cash value chain as the new 'portfolio' and are challenged to maximise value for the company from each element of this chain. In addition, there has also been a strategic shift in the status of cash management within companies, driven by legislation such as Sarbanes Oxley, and it is now high up on the corporate management agenda securing senior management and board attention. |
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| The origins of mutual funds |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| Oxford University Press has just published a brilliantly illustrated book ‘The Origins of Value: The Financial Innovations That Created Modern Capital Markets’, written by some of the world’s leading writers on finance history and the history of economic thought. In this extract we relate the very beginnings of mutual funds, (which are now the basis of a €500 billion plus industry in Dublin) in an abridged extract of an article by K.Geert Rouwenhorst, one of the editors of the book. |
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| The risk/reward paradigm - lower ratings or greater risk? |
Issue: 09 / 2005 |
| Every corporate treasurer, investment manager and many private individuals have significant cash surpluses to invest. Thanks to the myriad of information services available, people are keenly aware of the comparative returns available to them. Many investors spend significant time in the ‘everlasting search for higher yield’. However, not all investors are aware that each additional basis point of yield brings with it additional risk – namely default risk. John Coffey and Niall Cuddihy examine the different alternatives available to a cash investor, identifying, for each case, the risk/return issues involved. |
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