One of the world's largest asset managers, Merrill Lynch, has introduced an Irish-based mutual fund which it says gives Irish high net worth clients access to institutional managers previously not available to local investors.

The structure of the product, called Merrill Lynch Global Selects, allows the firm to effectively hire and fire fund managers more easily if they are underperforming, the firm claims.

Investors must have a minimum of €100,000 or $100,000 to invest in the funds, but only €5,000 or $5,000 is needed for any one investment mandate within a client's overall portfolio.

Mr Mark DeSario, head of Merrill Lynch's global private client managed assets group, said this meant Irish investors could avail of the investment expertise of some top-tier institutional fund managers who would otherwise require a minimum investment of €50 million.

Mr Nick Tucker, director of global private clients for the UK and Ireland, said the performance of the initial panel of fund managers selected would be constantly monitored.

Any who consistently fail to meet performance benchmarks would be replaced, with assets quickly re-allocated.