A large part of Ireland’s thriving financial services industry is the administration of investment funds and assets. Over forty companies operate here such as State Street, Bank of New York Mellon, JP Morgan and Northern Trust. Ireland has an international reputation in this sector which is overseen by the Central Bank of Ireland. Fund administration is a “back office” function and is responsible for the effective running of the fund on a daily basis, but crucially not for investing assets held in the fund. This function is the responsibility of asset managers who aim to maximise financial returns from their client’s financial portfolio.

Investment managers from over fifty countries representing their worldwide clients rely on this sector and the services they offer to administer their funds, giving the industry a global reach. As a fund administrator and custodian of the fund under your care your role would involve areas such as calculating the Net Asset Value of the fund, income and expenses, maintaining financial records and preparing accounts. You may also be responsible for calculating and paying dividends, cash or securities to investors in the fund. In situations where the fund is being dissolved or liquidated you would be required to ensure this proceeds in an orderly manner.

If you are interested in joining this young, dynamic sector there are opportunities throughout Ireland with the possibility of international travel as your career progresses. Skills are required from a variety of disciplines such as IT, Finance, Data Analysis, Accounting, Languages, Legal, Managerial and Marketing. A degree level qualification is usually required but there are many professional courses available to enable you to specialise once you have joined the sector.