Irish-based funds rise 30% in the past year

The value of funds based in Ireland has risen 30 per cent in the past year, with $375.4 billion (€321 billion) held in 2,334 separate funds.

Dublin now has a more significant domiciled funds industry thaBritain in terms of both assets and the number of funds.

If non-domiciled funds are included in the figure, funds serviced in Dublin now have net assets of $558.9 billion.

The rapid growth of the Irish fund industry has seen net assets here jump more than eightfold in six years, according to the ninth annual Dublin Fund Encyclopaedia, published by fund research group Fitzrovia International.

Ireland's success in attracting new business has been helped by the range of funds on offer, the corporate tax regime and, according to some fund managers, the relatively lower employee costs. It has also benefited from what are seen as the restrictive regulatory environment in rival Luxembourg.

Dublin has been successful in winning new business and in persuading existing operations to switch their focus from Luxembourg to Dublin.

The city now accounts for around 38 per cent of fund assets serviced between the two financial centres. Six years ago, the figure was 15 per cent.

The joint venture between AIB and Bank of New York remains the largest administrator of fund assets in the Dublin market, with $81.6 billion under its purview. PricewaterhouseCoopers has the lion's share of the business auditing Dublin-based funds, providing services to 1,355 of the 2,334 funds.

On the legal side, Dillon Eustace is the market leader as legal adviser to 733 funds.

British operations run the largest number of funds in Dublin but US fund managers rank first by total assets, with $153.6 billion.