Universal-Investment Group has gained approval from the Central Bank of Ireland to complete the acquisition of Irish fund management company Metzler Ireland as part of its plans to become a leading European management company (ManCo).
The new group company, which will trade as Universal-Investment Ireland, will be the group's third ManCo and fund service hub, alongside Luxembourg and Germany.
Universal-Investment says it is fully committed to the Irish market and will maintain and develop the significant level of substance currently existing in the Dublin-based company by bringing in more expertise and people as the business grows.
Meanwhile, Keith Milne will remain CEO of Metzler Ireland and will serve as country head of Universal-Investment Ireland.
Milne comments: “With the combination of our long-standing Irish heritage and experienced team, supported by the powerful open architecture platform built by Universal-Investment in Germany, where assets with a volume of more than €660 billion are serviced, we will be able to offer our clients the best possible service as a SuperManCo for Irish domiciled funds.”
Michael Reinhard, CEO of Universal-Investment, states: “We aim to become the leading European ManCo and fund service platform for all asset classes and this means that being present in the growing Irish funds hub is absolutely essential for us.”
“We plan to invest in the experienced local team to support their needs. The Irish operation will also be able to leverage the support of both, our staff of more than 1,000 experts and our innovative technical infrastructure which provides a strong backbone to all clients,” Reinhard adds.
Metzler will remain the initiator of its Irish funds and will continue to use its former fund platform.
To read more about the fund market in Ireland, click here.
