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The Government needs to speed up delivery of its strategy for the financial services sector if it is to move Ireland beyond being a "back-office" centre for funds to an international hub for fund management.

The Government needs to speed up delivery of its strategy for the financial services sector if it is to move Ireland beyond being a "back-office" centre for funds to an international hub for fund management, according to head of the largest Dublin-based asset manager. "We have 550 people working here, including upwards of 150 investment professionals, covering research, portfolio management and trading. But in our business there has definitely been a skill shortage [in Ireland]," said Robert Richardson, chief executive of Pioneer Investments. "It's hard to hire 'high-end' people in this market place." Mr Richardson said he supports 'Building on Success', the International Financial Services Sector strategy document which was launched two years ago by former Taoiseach Bertie Ahern. "But this strategy needs to be delivered upon more quickly and with a significant degree of ambition," he added. The Government has yet to set up a centre for financial services skill or a skills fund, as proposed in the document. "Ireland needs a lot more investment in graduate programmes, MAs and PhDs in finance. If one of the universities here became known for finance, it'd generate a buzz in the academic world and attract top students and professors from all over the globe," said Mr Richardson. Joe Brennan