ONE MORE THING:The merry-go-round in the Irish stockbroking/investment management world continues apace.
Smith & Williamson Investment Management (Swim), an offshoot of the accounting firm of the same name, has just hired investment managers Conor Martin and David Morrissey from Davy.
They are following in the footsteps of former colleague Jonathan Sheahan, who made the same move in November last year.
Already this year Davy has agreed to buy Bloxham Stockbrokers’ private client business.
This has resulted in some of the Bloxham staff affected by the deal moving elsewhere, notably to rivals Goodbody and Dolmen.
The latest hires bring to 12 the number of staff at Swim, which was only set up about a year ago by five ex-Goodbody staff as a branch of Smith & Williamson’s UK operation.
The UK business, which has been around since 1881, has more than £12 billion in assets under management, a figure that somewhat dwarfs the fledgling Irish division.
Swim has thus far accumulated assets under management of about €120 million from private clients or “families” as the firm likes to refer to them.
“We’re still growing and actively looking for more new talent,” Swim director Frank Brennan told me this week. “We don’t see ourselves as stockbrokers; we see ourselves as wealth managers.”
Brennan describes Swim as “risk-averse and conservative” in terms of its investment strategy.
“It’s the Smith & Williamson way; it’s not just because it’s flavour of the month.”
Would Brennan buy the Spanish bonds being sold this week?
“No,” was his emphatic answer. He wouldn’t touch them with the proverbial barge pole.
What about the annuity bonds that our own National Treasury Management Agency is proposing to offer to the market soon?
“It’s an interesting concept but we’d like to see more detail before making a decision.”
Brennan is concerned about rising inflation in western economies. While inflation could undoubtedly play a role in reducing sovereign indebtedness over time it could also undermine investment returns for individuals.
“We’d be very worried about that and the impact it could have on capital if the banks aren’t offering high enough interest rates.”
