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Hermes Investment Management steps up Dublin presence in no-deal Brexit contingency planning

Hermes Investment Management has stepped up its presence in Ireland to mitigate against the risks posed by Brexit, the company announced today.

The City-headquartered firm has set up an Irish management company, saying its mitigation activities have been based on the presumption of a “hard Brexit” without any transitional arrangements.

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The company, which has £36bn of assets under management, is the latest to set up a presence in the European Union.

Today’s announcement follows investment firm Pantheon’s decision to establish a five-strong team in Dublin and comes as MPs prepare to vote on Prime Minister Theresa May's Brexit deal tomorrow. 

Carol Mahon, former Fidelity International life insurance Ireland chief executive, will join the company as head of Ireland and will be joined by head of Ireland investment Aoifinn Devitt.

Hermes Investment Management chief executive Saker Nusseibeh said: “Since the referendum in 2016, we have always planned for a ‘hard Brexit’. We recognised early on that we had to make appropriate contingency plans in the absence of certainty, in order to ensure, to the extent possible, that we remain able to manage our clients’ assets in line with their expectations of us.

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“Hermes has ten years of investment management activities and service provider relationships in Ireland, with our UCITS range domiciled there. Given this, and our European business growth, we have taken the Brexit opportunity to bolster our presence in Ireland with the establishment of a management company to lead the management of Hermes’ European product offering and facilitate distribution to European clients.

“Moreover, the addition of such experienced, knowledgeable and skilled professionals as Carol and Aoifinn, will not only help us transition through Brexit effectively but deepen our footprint in Europe and ensure that we are providing best in class service to our clients.”