Asset management group Ashmore to open Ireland office ahead of Brexit
Asset management firm Ashmore is establishing an Irish subsidiary as part of its Brexit contingency planning.
The emerging markets investment manager, which is headquartered in London, will open the office in order to continue serving clients after Britain leaves the European Union.
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The new office will have fewer than 10 members of staff, with some employed locally and others moved over from London, when it opens at the beginning of next year.
"The two-year period to determine the terms of the UK's exit from the European Union ends in March 2019, however there remains substantial uncertainty regarding these terms and the implications for the financial services industry," it said.
"In order to ensure continued access to EU-based institutional clients, subject to regulatory approval Ashmore is in the process of establishing an office in Ireland.
"Therefore, notwithstanding the uncertainty, the operational impact of Brexit is expected to be manageable and the financial impact immaterial."
“Our objective is to make sure that, in the worst-case scenario, if there is no deal, it has no impact on our operations,” chief financial officer Tom Shippey told Reuters.
The news was announced as the group posted its results for the year ending 30 June, which showed a growth in assets under management from $58.7bn (£45.28bn) to $73.9bn.
Commenting on the group's results, chief executive Mark Coombs said: "Ashmore has delivered a strong operating performance over the financial year, driven by continued investment outperformance, record inflows, an ongoing commitment to cost discipline and good cash generation.
"This performance reflects the effectiveness of Ashmore's business model and the success of key strategic initiatives such as growing retail AuM and developing scale and diversity in the Group's local asset management businesses.
"While asset prices were more volatile in the final quarter of the financial year, this largely reflected nervousness about a small number of emerging countries with particular issues such as Turkey, with the market extrapolating these concerns across the broad and highly diverse emerging markets universe of more than 70 countries.
"This mispricing therefore presents another very appealing entry point for investors.
"The combination of attractive emerging markets valuations with Ashmore's strong investment track record and underweight investor allocations means that the outlook remains positive."
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