Only 20% of actively managed funds outperform over the long term. That seems to be the consensus. It’s not a surprise but it’s stark. I looked at two recent research pieces on this topic. AJ Bell in the UK reported that only 21% of active funds outperformed their passive counterparts over a 10 year period.Continue reading “Active Investment Management – Why Bother?”
Author Archives: Eugene Kiernan
What are Irish Retail Investors doing today?
Irish retail investors at the start of 2026 had investments totalling over €35 billion and this represented an all-time high. This is up 13% on 2025 and has grown from €9 billion in 2020. How, and in what are they investing? The Central Bank of Ireland produce solid numbers and useful insights on what IrishContinue reading “What are Irish Retail Investors doing today?”
What are you Drinking?
I was talking to a Master Distiller last week who was thinking of expansion and investment to cater for increased demand for their premium whiskeys. They also produce gin. “How much of current output is gin?” I asked. “That would be zero” he said. “We have enough in stock for quite some time.” I probablyContinue reading “What are you Drinking?”
What are Pension Trustees worried about now?
As an investment manager, when meeting pension trustees, my working assumption had always been that markets and investment outlooks would always be top of their agenda, the subject of much discussion and debate around the table. And that for the trustees to spend hours listening to views on the Federal Reserve, Emerging Market Debt or theContinue reading “What are Pension Trustees worried about now?”
What’s going on with Investment Managers?
Recently, anytime I’ve looked at how investment management companies are doing, it’s been straightforward enough. They all more or less face the same operating landscape and tended to move together, whether it was up or down. Rising operating costs, pressure on fees and choppy markets acted as a dampener on performance from which they wouldContinue reading “What’s going on with Investment Managers?”
Can You Trust Them?
Perhaps the single most important issue in financial services, especially in investment management, is trust. Trust is both very simple and very complex but it’s at the heart of what we do in this sector. How does investment management stack up? It’s a tricky one to answer especially at the more granular level. However inContinue reading “Can You Trust Them?”
Is There a Bubble in Private Credit?
Recently I’ve been getting a lot of emails and newsletters telling me not to worry about Private Credit. So I’ve started worrying about Private Credit. Private capital has raised trillions over the past decade – it is hard to be accurate given its nature. The major asset classes are private equity, private credit, venture capital,Continue reading “Is There a Bubble in Private Credit?”
Are Investors Investing?
Well it kind of depends…… The picture for investment fund flows in Europe and the US appears reasonably positive, while stats for the UK are a bit more challenging. Financial markets have been hit with geo-political risk, growth concerns, inflation fears and a possible end to the interest rate cycle. But generally investors seem happyContinue reading “Are Investors Investing?”
Should Investors Consider Irish Property?
Irish Commercial Property is an asset class I’ve highlighted over the past year as perhaps deserving of a place in investor portfolios. Building resilience into an investment portfolio has been a challenge in 2026. Bond markets have seen capital losses as yields have shifted up. German 10 year has moved from 2.8% to 3.1%. CommoditiesContinue reading “Should Investors Consider Irish Property?”
Where do Irish investors put their money?
Total financial assets of Irish households are just under €600 billion. (Here we’re talking about stocks, bonds and funds – not property) The bulk of this €600 billion is in pensions, insurance funds and deposits at 83%. The amount invested in retail investment funds is a much smaller number at just over €11 billion. SoContinue reading “Where do Irish investors put their money?”
How are Irish fund managers dealing with the markets fall-out?
The 2026 Iran war began on 28 February, when the United States and Israel launched surprise airstrikes on multiple sites and cities across Iran, killing Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei and numerous other Iranian officials. What has the impact been on Irish investment funds? Let’s be clear. Fund Managers came into this episode reasonably constructive on markets. LookingContinue reading “How are Irish fund managers dealing with the markets fall-out?”
Where are the Risks in Irish Investment Funds? ___ They should know.
And by “they”, I mean the Central Bank. Every year the Bank publishes its Regulatory & Supervisory Outlook which highlights where they feel the greatest risks and vulnerabilities are for the financial system and our overall financial stability. The report covers several sectors, one of which is investment funds. So where are the main risksContinue reading “Where are the Risks in Irish Investment Funds? ___ They should know.”
Where have all the Investment Managers gone?
It just keeps on going……. I’ve written before about investment managers getting together through mergers or takeovers. It seems to have been a defining feature of the industry in recent years. But we’ve reached a tipping point. Since the start of the century, the asset management industry has been attracting about 150 new firms everyContinue reading “Where have all the Investment Managers gone?”
Are Markets too Optimistic ….or are we too Pessimistic?
Most of the Market Outlook pieces I’ve seen so far in 2026 have been, to a greater or lesser extent, positive. Investment managers usually are. Sometimes the views will be somewhat nuanced, stressing volatility risks or focussing on longer term market prospects, but it would be rare for an investment outlook piece to start withContinue reading “Are Markets too Optimistic ….or are we too Pessimistic?”
Did Property work for Irish investors in 2025?
In what was a good year for financial markets overall, did investing in Irish Commercial Property work for investors in 2025? One thing I’ve noticed about fund returns in the year just gone is that, irrespective of the specific asset class, there has been a wide range of returns among funds within the same sector. ForContinue reading “Did Property work for Irish investors in 2025?”
The Central Bankers’ Christmas Party 2025
It was the night before Christmas And all the stock markets were closed Fund managers finally got to rest And the Traders gently dozed No more economic forecasts to be made No more commentaries to write For all the world’s financial folk It was a truly silent night But off in the distance you couldContinue reading “The Central Bankers’ Christmas Party 2025”
What do Irish Investors Want?
So the Central Bank of Ireland has produced a very solid research piece providing a snapshot of what Irish investors want and where they are putting their money. Firstly it’s a lot of money! The net wealth of Irish households has more than doubled in the last decade to €1,288bn. The headline conclusions from theContinue reading “What do Irish Investors Want?”
Just what are Investment Managers thinking?
What’s top of mind for investment managers today? There’s clearly a lot to consider. On the positive side, economies are holding up (for now). Company profits seem resilient, interest rates may have further to fall, markets have been making all time highs. But on the other hand, there is unprecedented uncertainty around issues like tradeContinue reading “Just what are Investment Managers thinking?”
Mind the Gap
Deciding where to invest isn’t easy. Should it be in stocks or bonds? Should you consider property or maybe alternative assets like private equity or credit? What about including an environmental aspect to your investment planning? But even when you think you’ve got that figured out, there’s the question of who you invest with. This can oftenContinue reading “Mind the Gap”
Grinding out a Result
This year the average Irish Pension fund peaked in February, and is only now clawing its way back to that level. In the mean-time, it had slumped by about 15% from that peak until it bottomed in early April, recovering all the lost ground. So year to date the average pension fund is just now edgingContinue reading “Grinding out a Result”
