Post Brexit, a lot of new entrants have swooped into the investment management sector of the Dublin marketplace, says Sean Hawkshaw, chief executive of Ireland-based KBI Global Investors.

Speaking to International Investment, Hawkshaw (pictured) said: "There are a lot of changes going on at the moment. Two big players, Ulster Bank and KBC Bank decided to move out of the Irish marketplace. It's a dynamic, changing space but going in the right direction." 

"We've also seen existing players that have been here for many years, possibly just with management structures for funds, gearing up their activities, and putting more front of house investment management activity alongside the macro structure. 

"So it's been quite dynamic in the last few years where everybody's seeing some salary pressures starting to come through, and it has become more difficult to hire, with greater turnover within the industry albeit coming off from a low base." 

He continued: "There are a lot of positives with that too. There's a very dynamic and collaborative environment between CEOs, CIOs and investment teams around Dublin, with a lot of them located in this area. 

"The Irish Association of Investment Managers, which I'm involved in, has really got an impetus,  and it comes with common objectives clarified from a very strong group of financial companies over the last five years. 

He added: "It's a good place to work from that perspective. In terms of recruiting, at KBI we try to promote people internally, but we've also been able to augment that by bringing people in from overseas, either from the UK or from the US or elsewhere."

Hawkshaw also cited the importance of Dublin's "very strong" university presence with "some really exciting and innovative new programmes feeding into the financial services sector here". 

Overall, "investment management is booming" across Dublin's financial services space, he says.