Careers

An investment fund or a collective investment scheme is where a group of people pool their money/savings to gain the benefits of being a single larger investor.

The combined might of this group allows them to invest in a wider range of financial products, to spread their risk, to consult experts for advice and specialists to look after their investments. These specialists and experts collectively make up the investment funds industry and they invest, account for, service and manage investment funds in leading global investment centres like Ireland. In fact, Ireland is now one of the fastest growing investment funds centres in the world. The international funds services companies in Ireland include many of the world’s largest financial institutions.

Within the investment funds industry there are three principal organisations: the fund promoter, who markets and sells the investment opportunity to potential investors; the fund manager, who makes the investment decisions to try to increase the value of the fund and the fund administrator, whose responsibility it is to service the fund and to make sure it is managed properly.

While there are some fund promoters and managers based in Ireland, the main focus of the Irish industry is the administration and servicing of funds. Today, the investment funds industry in Ireland directly employs over 9,000 people and this number is expected to continually increase over the coming years.

What is a fund?

A fund is where a group of people (shareholders) pool their savings to invest in financial assets, typically securities or shares. By pooling their savings they gain the benefits of being a larger investor, allowing them to invest in a wider range of financial products, to spread their risk, to have experts advise them on their investment and to have specialist service providers/ administrators look after the fund for them. A fund is often referred to as an investment fund or a mutual fund (typically in the US) or a collective investment scheme.