12th February 2020: Finance Dublin will be publishing an article on the choices facing elected lawmakers in forming a new Irish Government while supporting the continued prosperity of the economy and the IFS industry, a core element in the recent prosperity and viability of the economy. At its heart will be an assessment of the binary choice facing the elected Dail - (a) whether TDs elected under a Fianna Fail and/or Fine Gael banner facilitate the inclusion of Sinn Fein in Cabinet, or (b) agree as parties to form a National Coalition excluding SF drawing into Government other parties amongst the 76% of the electorate that did not vote for SF. These include the Greens, Social Democrats, Labour and Independents. Also covered will be issues such as tax, and international trust in Irish legal processes, in light of initiatives such as "Ireland for Law". Readers are welcome to participate. Confidentiality is assured by Finance Dublin. To participate, please email your contact (email) details to: info@fintel.org.

This edition of Finance Dublin is the first in a new period for the Irish IFS industry, in which the UK is outside of the EU, a stage which we describe as the 'End of the Beginning' marking the end of what really are just the preliminary stages of Brexit, with the UK leaving the EU from February 1st. "Ireland for Law" - our cover story focusses on the work that is going to to make Ireland a leading EU centre for commercial law, involving Government, Judiciary, the Bar Council and the Law Society.

In Finance Dublin, cover story, February edition: Since Britain announced its intention of leaving the EU, lawyers throughout Europe have developed plans for winning a share of the international commercial business that is likely to depart that jurisdiction. A number have already opened up English speaking courts. But Ireland has been quietly and deliberately developing its own strategy, confident that its status as a common law jurisdiction can be a pillar for the Irish Courts and legal profession to be central in commercial law in EU27.

Investment Funds 2020, in Finance Dublin: Ireland in 2019 has emerged as the leading European domicile for UCITS and AIFs in 2019, as data for the first three quarters of the year show the jurisdiction with an unprecedented 57 per cent share of net sales compared with the next location, Luxembourg, with a 19.7 p.c. share. The figures are contained in Finance Dublin's annual funds industry Special Report, Investment Funds 2020.

Markets entered 2020 in a more confident state than they were just twelve months earlier, and for a good reason. To stay on top of this favourable wave, there will be challenges. But, as we say in our new year's editorial, we believe the effort will be worth it, as huge opportunities exist.

The establishment of Mancos, the development of new clusters and product lines, the structuring of funds in Irish vehicles, with Irish wrappers recording new record asset levels, such as CCFs at over €100 billion, and new agendas in areas such as ESG, and new legislative and regulatory initiatives, are among the key pillars of development examined in 'Investment Funds 2020' Special Report (right).

With the introduction of the Multi-Lateral Instrument, and the principal purpose test in particular, and with more and more countries moving to a relief at source system, it will become particularly important in the future for Irish funds to ensure they are satisfied that they are entitled to claim treaty benefits in the respective jurisdiction before claiming relief at source in respect of withholding tax on income received from their foreign investments, writes Deloitte's SYBIL SMYTH.

Tinseltown and the party season may be in full swing, but it's a good time to take a moment of reflection and look at ways we can improve the lives of those less fortunate than ourselves. Worth considering might be basis.point, the charity initiative of the Irish funds Industry, which is a unique example of industry colleagues coming together and putting their time, energy and resources together to combat one single issue, educational disadvantage. Six years ago, the charity was established by a small group of visionaries within the Irish funds sector, who saw the potential of coordinating their own personal giving in a structured fashion in order to amplify their impact. They identified education as a transformative component in offering a child a better future and the concept of #joinedupgiving was born.

Our recent conferences held in October provided much insight and food for thought, some of which is reflected in this issue, and some of which will inform the agenda in coming issues of Finance Dublin. One thing is clear, though. Brexit as a process will last for a very long time, the headlined dates in popular dialogue relate only to the commencement of a regulatory disengagement process that is set to last many years into the future.

The 2019 Edition of the annual Finance Dublin Accountancy survey of the top 20 Irish firms shows that total income of the Top 20 firms has surpassed €2 billion for the first time. This is double the total of just over €1 billion in 2010. In just nine years since the Global Financial Crisis the Irish industry has grown by as much as it has in the previous 131 years, since professional accounting in Ireland started in 1888, the foundation date of the oldest professional institute in Ireland.

Finance Dublin's conference #FCSDublin 2019 in Dublin Castle on October 16th featured amongst its speakers Ken Clarke, MP, Father of the House of Commons, and former Chancellor of the Exchequer, the Chairman of the United States Securities & Exchange Commission, the USA's most senior regulatory official for the stock markets and for other exchanges and markets. Agenda details.

FCSDublin, 2019 in Dublin Castle on October 16th featured amongst its keynote speakers the Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission of the United States.

The Latest issue: Brexit may be a topic on everyone's lips still, but it will eventually pass in significance, and we will be left with the concrete realities of a new financial markets landscape. In FCSDublin 2019 speakers have been briefed to address the concrete opportunities that exist across the platform rather than dwell on the uncertainties that may exist, such as those surrounding Brexit. It will be in concrete action that continued success will be achieved.

Thirty four deals are recognised across six categories in the Deals of the Year, 2019, out of over 210 nominations. The deals are across the spectrum of Ireland's capital markets and its international financing and structuring industry; Finance Dublin's annual conference, FCS Dublin, in October will include as keynote speakers, the Chairman of the Securities & Exchange Commission, USA, Jay Clayton, and Kenneth Clarke, QC, former Chancellor of the Exchequer; Irish finance's response to the Green surge: BPFI sets out an agenda; The Government's 'Ireland for Finance' strategy: the pillars; The Irish Tax Monitor: Corporation tax considerations, the US Tax and Jobs Act and its impact on Ireland, and Brexit tax planning, and much more.

'We find asset reallocation combined with reinsurance to be the most effective means to manage an insurer's return/risk profile following a more holistic enterprise-based framework', says New England Asset Management's Jim Bachman. New England Asset Management (NEAM) was established 1984 based on the recognition of a need for specialised asset management services tailored to the insurance industry. It was acquired by Berkshire Hathaway in 1998 and, in Europe, has established NEAM Limited in Ireland with a branch office in the UK.

The President of the Institute of Banking, Clive Bellows, Head of Global Fund Services EMEA Northern Trust, Dublin describes a game-changing skill advantage on the way that 'will distinguish the Irish funds industry amongst its global peers'.