Mercer, the global consulting firm, has poached two key executives from Irish Life to set up a new fund management business in Dublin.

The new company, which has not yet been authorised by the Irish Financial Services Regulatory Authority, will be a multimanager business that allows clients to outsource their fund-management decisions.

It has hired Hooman Kaveh, chief investment officer of Irish Life International, as its new chief investment officer. The new firm - Mercer Global Investments - has also taken on Jan-Hein van den Akker, an Irish Life International portfolio manager.

Tom Murphy, who will head the new company, is in the process of engaging a number of additional employees, with the initial workforce to come to about 10.

Subject to regulatory approval, Mercer Global Investments will operate on a pan-European basis but will have its headquarters in Dublin.

Mr Murphy said it was a considerable coup for the capital to have attracted the business ahead of a number of other locations.

He explained that the move is an extension of Mercer's existing business, which currently offers advice to clients who need to choose between a large number of investment managers, typically in the pensions area.

Clients had, according to Mr Murphy, suggested that this process was taking too much time and was not providing them with sufficient detail to make an informed decision.

"We've said, if you don't want to make the decisions, we will do it for you," said Mr Murphy.

This will see Mercer Global Investments taking clients' investments and spreading them across a range of managers. Often this will give clients access to more managers than they would have been able to reach on their own, said Mr Murphy.

The new operation will be the first of its kind to be based in the Republic, although a number of other companies operating in the multimanager area have relationships with Dublin financial houses.