Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) has come up with an interesting offer aimed at those who are unsure what to do with the proceeds from the sale of their Telecom Eireann shares.

If you have at least £3,000 worth of Telecom shares and are prepared to invest in equities for five years or more, the company will buy your shares at the market rate and transfer the proceeds into their managed mutual fund.

In addition to avoiding brokers' charges, BIAM is offering a 60 per cent discount on the normal up-front charge of buying into the fund.

Rather than paying a 5 per cent charge, investors will face an initial charge of 2 per cent along with the annual fund management fee of 1 per cent.

The offer, which effectively swaps your Telecom shares for units in the managed fund, will be of interest to those who believe it is risky to hold just one stock and would like to spread that risk.

It is also likely to appeal to people who withdrew money from savings accounts to buy the shares but are loathe to put it back on deposit in a low interest-rate environment.

"Long term, the equity market is the place to be but we are advising people to consolidate their gains and diversify their funds," says Mark Cunningham, director at BIAM.

"By investing in a mutual fund, you can spread your investments across shares, bonds, cash and property. This reduces the risk of your investment as you will no longer depend on the fortunes of one company or industry." He points out that the average managed growth fund was up 6.6 per cent in the first half of the year whereas the ISEQ index as a whole was down nearly 5 per cent and individual stocks such as AIB and Bank of Ireland lost quite a lot of ground in the market.

The offer is open until August 11th. Those interested should call 1850 330 400 or drop into their local Bank of Ireland branch.