Deirdre O'Shaughnessy speaks to Eoin Cotter of Davy Private Clients' Galway office about trends in investment and wealth management

Davy Private Clients opened its western office in Galway two years ago, following the opening of a Cork office in 2004. Last year the company continued this strategy of regional expansion by opening an office in Belfast.

With the amount of what is crudely called 'new money' in the Irish economy, it's not surprising that the Private Client division is the company's fastest-growing unit, administering assets of over €10 billion last year. In Galway alone, the company managed over €750 million, and expects to increase that figure this year.

According to Cotter, staff numbers in the Galway office have grown from two initially to a team of eight "very experienced and highly skilled" investment professionals. This in turn is expected to increase to ten by the end of 2009.

While the needs and preferences of Davy's clients are "not particular to any one geographical location", Cotter has found advantages to operating in Galway.

"Opening the office in Galway has enabled us to meet our clients more often, get to understand their needs more and generally offer a superior service to them. In addition to greater proximity to our clients living and working within driving distance of the city, there is an excellent network of tax and legal professionals operating in Galway. As a place to live, work and do business, the city is now attracting the top people in these fields," he explains.

Davy does not deal with small potatoes. Client portfolios from €500,000 upwards are dealt with, and the company has seen a marked trend away from residential property and Irish shares in recent times.

Cotter, who attributes this change of direction to the slowdown in the Irish economy and the Irish property market, says that clients are taking "a much more strategic look at their investments, and ensuring that they are properly diversified in terms of geographical and asset classes."

With economic changes, he says, "some investors are tentative about investing and are more inclined to hold on to cash." However, he warns that, while this may be an appropriate strategy, "markets move quickly and it is sometimes important to grasp the nettle and make important decision in uncertain times."

Another key trend at the moment is people turning towards ethical investment, particularly renewables, he says.

"This is a worldwide trend as a result of the phenomenal growth of the renewable sector and the adoption of environmentally supporting policies by international governments. Globally the renewable energy sector now accounts for 2.4 million jobs, and has doubled electric generating capacity since 2004, to 240 gigawatts. More than 65 countries now have national goals for accelerating the use of renewable energy and are enacting far-reaching policies to meet those goals. In fact, most governments including Ireland now underwrite investments in renewable energy projects and this makes them a very attractive proposition for the investor," explains Cotter.

"As a result, multilateral agencies and private investors alike are integrating renewable energy into their mainstream portfolios, capturing the interest of the largest global companies. Again picking the right investments in this space which tie into the client's own investment horizon is critically important," he says.