Dublin front office wave still offshore

Chris Manfield, a headhunter at Whitney Group 's London office, sources talent for investment management businesses in Ireland. He says many of Ireland's largest funds look for staff from abroad: "There isn't necessarily the quality of people in Dublin, and big funds like Pioneer have the ability to source staff from anywhere given their fundamental approach to research and entrepreneurial spirit."

Pioneer currently employs some 50 asset managers in Dublin, many of whom come from Italy, reflecting its position as the asset management arm of Unicredito Italiano.

David Hanratty, head of public relations at Pioneer, says the fund considered settling in London and Edinburgh before it selected its Dublin base in 1998. "Dublin was felt to have a number of attractions," he says. "It's English speaking, and based in the eurozone, with a well educated work force and a strong commitment to the financial services sector. Although it's not usually seen as a natural front office venue, Dublin seemed a good choice."

Front office on back burner

While Dublin's standing as a centre for back office funds administration has soared in recent years, the city has had less success at establishing itself as a centre for actual money management.

Industry insiders say this 'phase two' of Dublin's route to international financial stardom has now been put on the backburner. "Over €900bn of funds are serviced in Ireland," says Deidre Norris, director of marketing and communications at the Dublin Funds Industry Association. "But the management of that money is mostly done elsewhere."

She adds: "The reality is that you are not going to get organisations setting up a whole new asset management centre in Dublin when they already have those facilities in London, New York and Frankfurt. We are going to pursue what Dublin does best, and that is servicing the business rather than actually managing the funds."

This isn't great news for Ireland's finance professionals, who recruiters say are finding it hard to make the move into the best paid asset management jobs. "There's a real shortage of front office roles in Dublin," says Ronan Colleran, a director at Dublin-based recruiter Accreate. "It's a source of real frustration. We have a lot of candidates who have gained an ACA with the Big Four and want to move into money management, but 95% of the roles here are in the back office."

High pay... for a few

Colleran says front office jobs in Dublin typically number less than 30 a year and are mostly at small funds and hedge funds, such as Harbourmaster Capital or Avoca Capital. He says those lucky enough to land them typically have impeccable academic qualifications and an ACA. Starting salaries are around €65,000, but bonuses have increased substantially in recent years from 20% to up to 100% of base.

After a few years, Colleran says Dublin's rarefied fund managers can earn €500,000 plus. "This kind of money has really only been on offer for the past two or three years," he says.

Manfield says fund managers working in the UK can often earn a lot more after making a move to Dublin due to generous tax allowances for ex-pats: "If you're happy to go to Ireland, it's a no brainer: pound for pound you can end up 40% better off."