Asset manager closes its firm in Dublin

AUSTRALIAN ASSET manager Perpetual Ltd has closed its Dublin-based subsidiary PI Investment Management Ltd and transferred the funds to Wellington Management Company in Boston.

The office was closed on Monday in a move that affects up to 19 staff.

Perpetual said the decision followed a review of its international investment capabilities here.

“We came to the view that the current manufacturing of Perpetual’s international share funds [in Dublin] had not met our business expectations,” said Cathy Doyle, Perpetual’s group executive for equities.

“We have taken the decision to close the in-house manufacturing of the funds.

“This has also resulted in the closure of our Dublin-based international equities business, PI Investment Management Ltd.”

Perpetual said it took into account “market demand, profitability and alignment to strategy” when making the decision.

It “determined” that the Dublin office did “not meet its business expectations”.

Latest accounts for PI Investment Management show that it made a loss of €6.3 million in the 12 months to the end of June 2010 compared with a loss of €12 million in the previous year.

It had accumulated losses of €43.9 million by June 30th, 2010.

The accounts state that the company was managing €900 million in client assets last year, up from €700 million in fiscal 2009.

Staff costs last year amounted to €8.2 million or an average of just under €432,000.

This included €2 million in wages and salaries, and €4.9 million in commissions, bonuses and incentives.

PI Investment Management began trading here in March 2005. It made a big bang in the industry locally by hiring four senior executives from Bank of Ireland Asset Management, then the country’s biggest fund manager.

At the time Perpetual said the quartet would receive A$28 million worth of company stock by meeting certain targets over a seven-year period.

The Dublin office had responsibility for the sales and marketing of Perpetual’s global equity investments outside Australia.

It was also responsible for manufacturing these products.