Ann Hunt

We have a new research project on the Global Fund Search platform. An Irish Wealth Manager is in the market for a value equity manager, to integrate into their Fund of Funds range. With an expected allocation exceeding €75m, the mandate focuses on developed markets, allowing some emerging market exposure. If you’re an asset manager interested in finding out more, you can register on the Global Fund Search platform for free. For investors who want to explore how we can streamline your manager selection process, and help you to do more, with less resource at zero cost , click the link in my bio and get in touch ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- 🔔 Click on the bell on my profile to follow me here for more thoughts on how technology is changing asset management search and research. #rfp #equity #valueequity #wealthmanagement #assetmanagementresearch #vfm #valueformoney

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RTE's David Murphy's piece on today's economic data includes some commentary from me. Particularly encouraging is the fact that Ireland’s multinational and domestic cylinders were both firing in Q3. The sectoral breakdown shows that industry and ICT put in a good performance, taking the headline GDP metric back into expansionary territory. More home-focused sectors like construction also expanded and Modified Domestic Demand, which is a proxy for the domestic economy, powered on. Carol Murphy Shane Mac Sweeney Simon MacAllister Barry Dunning Olive Stephens Eve Bannon

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As I note in this RTE piece, the ECB delivered an early Christmas present to borrowers at its final meeting of the year, reducing interest rates by a quarter-point, in what was the fourth cut of 2024. New staff projections show the disinflation process is well advanced in the Euro area and have GDP expanding in 2025. The growth outlook for the zone is not overly stellar though; there is uncertainty related to political developments in France and Germany and global trade tensions pose a risk. While President Lagarde didn’t pre-commit to a particular path for interest rates today, EY’s expectation is that she and her colleagues will be ringing in the New Year with further cuts. Carol Murphy Shane Mac Sweeney Simon MacAllister Barry Dunning Olive Stephens

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The return to growth in the first quarter followed five consecutive quarterly declines in Irish GDP. What was striking about the Q1 figures was the surge in service exports , notably computer services, which changes the outlook for the full year. It may also be the case that AI related sales may have a significant impact on Irish service exports for some time to come, and therefore Irish GDP. https://danmclaughlin.ie/

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Welcome News! Further Government support for SMEs! Delighted to hear that the Irish Government via Enterprise Ireland will be providing €250m to support growing Irish businesses looking to "start, grow, innovate and scale internationally by providing vital equity capital". #WorkingCapital is also an essential element to help support this growth and what better way to match this than aligning funding to your sales! #InvoiceFinance does exactly this, releasing more and more cash to the SME against increasing credit sales when a business would normally need to wait up to 90 days for receipt. If you are interested in finding out more about invoice finance, check-out the local experts at Bibby Financial Services Ireland or give us a call on 01 297 4911 or 021 480 8375 #FundingSMEs #SupportingLocal #CashFlow #InternationalFootprint

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UII introduces Irish fund product offering. The platform will now include Alternative Investment Fund Manager (AIFM) services for Irish-domiciled real estate funds https://lnkd.in/dsxhfNNM #fundadmin #Custody

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The Davy Digest, our weekly roundup of market trends, topics, and news from the Davy Investment Strategy team.   Read this week's insights https://lnkd.in/edH-bucU #insight #news #markets #trends

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The Davy Digest is our weekly roundup of market trends, topics, and news from Paul Nicholson, CFA, Head of Investment Strategy at Davy, and members of our Investment Strategy team. Disinflation is on the agenda again in Switzerland, with inflation near the low end of the Swiss National Bank’s target range. To offset a rising Swiss franc and downside risks to inflation, markets expect the SNB to cut rates aggressively and are pricing a return to zero rates by December 2025. Read more on this week's insights - https://lnkd.in/etvGN9d2 #Insights #investing #economy

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Decisions, Decisions.... The last webinar in the spring series is just a few days away. If you haven't already signed up, there is still time! you can do so at www.whitespire.ie I have covered this topic in workshops a number of times before and the takeaway that emerges is that decision making bottlenecks are heightened if trust is low or company objectives are ambiguous. In this webinar I'll talk about how to put in guiderails to allow people to make decisions with confidence within their sphere of control. Check it out on Monday! #decisionmaking #leadership #operationalexcellence

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Had a great evening at the AI Start-Up Conference in Cork yesterday. Left there asking some big questions— What is Trust? 🤔 What is True Value? 🔍 When we talk about trust in AI, we’re talking about more than just technical reliability. It’s about the confidence that these systems will act ethically, transparently, and in alignment with our values. True trust means believing that AI will not only function correctly but also make decisions that respect human rights, privacy, and fairness. ⚖️ True value, on the other hand, goes beyond what the technology can do. It’s about the meaningful impact AI can have on our lives—solving real-world problems, improving quality of life, and contributing positively to society. 🏛️ It’s the difference between creating tools that are simply efficient and those that are truly transformative. 📈 To cultivate both trust and true value in AI, we need to start with transparency and ethical design, making systems that are understandable, reliable, and accountable. But it doesn’t stop there. We need to involve users in the development process, prioritise their needs, and maintain an open dialogue to foster understanding and trust. 🤝 Thank you to Ed Harnett Paul Walsh and Stephen Dooley for a great conversation- it’s an important journey we are all on, building AI partners that not only function well but genuinely earn our trust and deliver real value. I look forward to seeing what you all continue to develop and also to more discussions on this critical topic. #AI #Trust #EthicalAI #AIStartups #Innovation

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The Irish Times' FinTech Focus special report paints a bright picture of the Irish fintech sector, highlighting its dynamism, diversification, and strong job market. Patricia Callan, highlights the success of homegrown Irish fintech companies in delivering cutting-edge solutions across various financial services segments. [https://lnkd.in/d-D25Xh5] Louise Kelly highlights with the right environment, Irish financial services firms will play an even bigger role over the next decade in transforming how people and businesses manage money worldwide. [https://lnkd.in/dzwtWsTS] Donna Noonan discusses the recently published Expert Group on Future Skills Needs report for international financial services. Donna talks about the the wide range of interesting roles available in financial services sector. [https://lnkd.in/dz4AxB96] #Fintech #Ireland #FinancialServices #Innovation Please click on the following link to view this special report focusing on fintech - https://lnkd.in/g7x_dsxu

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Great to read this article in the Irish Times. No matter how great our technology, Ai and calculators are the value in being able to do math on the fly is huge. Particularly as employees rise through the ranks of a firm and become more involved in pricing, budgeting, cap ex etc. Investing in your personal math is invaluable! https://lnkd.in/g_XrXyn4

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This is a really positive first step for retail investment in Ireland. Having inflated away €30bn over the past 4 years, Irish savers need as much encouragement as possible to make better long term decisions. The recommendations of the funds review report are well overdue and to be welcomed. Here’s hoping that the next government moves to implement. “Retail Investment: The review team has made recommendations to: - better align the tax on investment funds and life assurance products with that of direct equities by removing deemed disposal and aligning the rate of tax to 33%. These are big changes, which could help many cohorts of society in saving and investing for major life events or for retirement. The roadmap to simplification is not straightforward and could take a few years to implement, if agreed by the next Government. There are recommendations for a mapping of the savings and investment landscape, an annual forum on savings and investment and surveys of retail investors, to better inform the policy work of the Department.”

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Very interesting post from Mark Browne on managing liquidity for ManCos and legal representatives of Funds. The liquidity metrics Siman Systems tracks for PB Hedge Fund models across traded volumes, float concentration, sector, industry, country sizing etc are also available daily (or more frequently in times of stress) and provide market leading information for boards and ManCos on the liquidity of the ETF and its constituent underliers. Please contact www.simansystems for more information.

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They say no good deed goes unpunished! The wonderful Aisling O' Mahony delivered an excellent training session on the Funds Industry to our team at valid8Me recently, and we took the opportunity to ask her to write a blog post for our guest series. In her blog, Aisling discusses the importance of upskilling in the funds industry - a topic that is very close to my heart! #fundsindustry #lifelonglearning #upskilling

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Without question, the decision to close the NDRC comes at the worst possible time for Ireland. Over the last few months, panic alarms have been going as we face the reality that our economy is completely unbalanced. More than ever before, we need to focus on creating and developing home-grown startups. This is one of the most short-sighted decisions I have ever seen! As an entrepreneur, I know the benefit accelerator programs like this bring to first-time founders. As an investor, I’ve backed a handful of NDRC companies over the last 24 months and have seen how tirelessly Patrick Walsh, Menno Axt and the whole Dogpatch Labs team have worked to help them get off the ground. We need more programs like the NDRC, not less! Join us in calling for its reversal by signing here: https://lnkd.in/geRfSDmn

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