Australian firm poaches senior B of I staff

An Australian asset management company has poached a team of senior staff from Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) as part of its plans to move into the Dublin market. Una McCaffrey reports.

Sydney-based Perpetual Trustees Australia said yesterday that it would establish a global equities business in Dublin that will manage €1.3 billion in assets.

The Dublin business will be run by Mr John Nolan and Mr Des Sullivan, both of whom were deputy chief investment officers with BIAM until this week.

They will be joined from BIAM by Mr John Forde and Mr Richard Kelly, who will act as senior portfolio managers. Both held similar roles with BIAM, which accepted the resignations of all four executives on Thursday.

Mr Kelly had been with the company since 1985, with Mr Forde joining in 1995. Mr Sullivan began working with BIAM in 1994, while Mr Nolan started three years later.

BIAM chairman Mr Denis Donovan said it was "regrettable" to see colleagues depart. He announced the appointment of BIAM director Ms Leona Nicholson as deputy chief investment officer.

Ms Nicholson will take control of BIAM's EAFE (Europe, Australalasia, Far East)/Europe fund, with the firm's chief investment officer, Mr Chris Reilly, stepping in to run the firm's Global product. Mr Reilly's contract with BIAM expires in 2007.

Ms Jane Neill, deputy chief investment director, will continue to head BIAM's Balanced fund. The firm will also be seeking new executives to fill the gaps created by the departures to Perpetual, seeking at the same time to reassure existing clients that their funds will not be affected by the change in staff.

BIAM is a key contributor to the Bank of Ireland Group performance. The division posted profits of €125 million in the year to the end of March. This was 11 per cent higher than in the previous year.

Bank of Ireland said on Thursday that it expected after-tax profits for the division to grow by a low double-digit percentage over the same period last year. However, the bank pointed to "continuing pressure" in its US asset management business, which has lost clients over the past year.

Perpetual's move to Dublin will see the firm compete for institutional mandates in the Republic and abroad.

Mr Gerard Doherty, group executive with Perpetual's wealth management division, said the decision to base in Dublin was driven mainly by the decision to hire the BIAM team. The firm will receive some support from IDA Ireland. Mr Doherty said the four managers had been recruited after an eight-month global selection process handled by a New York headhunter.

A spokesman for the former BIAM team said the four were looking forward to their new roles. They said they already felt an affinity with the firm, which is expected to employ 16 staff when it sets up early next year.

Two senior Perpetual executives - Mr Rory MacIntyre and Ms Patti Eyers - will relocate from Sydney to Dublin.

Perpetual is an independent financial services group that was established in Australia 119 years ago. The group has €13 billion under management, compared to BIAM's €55 billion. The €1.3 billion that is being shifted to Dublin is currently managed by Fidelity International under an outsourcing agreement.