Infrastructure investment funds coming to a city near you

Is infrastructure investing about to hit Dublin?

The Irish National Pensions Reserve Fund announced this week it is investing €500m in infrastructure investment projects, such as those run by Goldman Sachs, Deutsche Bank, Macquarie and Babcock & Brown, which owns the Irish telecom business Eircom.

Dublin recruiters are expecting a significant increase in demand for candidates with infrastructure investment experience soon. "It's an area that we can't shed a great deal of light on at the moment because we haven't built a presence in that market to date," says James Hayes, manager of recruiter Robert Walters' banking and finance team. "However it will become increasingly more of a focus for us given the growth in that sector," he adds.

Given the absence of an established market for Dublin-based infrastructure specialists, potential salaries are hard to pin down. One London-based recruiter says experienced candidates can expect excellent salaries and bonuses. "It depends what stage they come in to the fund, but London salaries are 55k to 70k. This could be higher for a small fund and bonuses can be as high as 200%.

"At VP or associate level, you're looking at 85k to 90k and a bonus of 250% plus," says David Shutt, who specialises in infrastructure-related recruitment at recruiters Goodman Masson in London.

A typical candidate is ACA qualified with several years' experience in corporate finance or investment banking, usually with expertise in project finance or infrastructure investments. "These funds give pension funds stable and predictable returns, which is why there's a growth in the sector at the moment," adds Shutt.