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We offer a variety of non-traditional investment solutions, including multi-manager strategies and real-asset investments.

This broad range of investment strategies can improve clients’ portfolios by offering the potential for stronger absolute returns and lower levels of volatility, thanks to greater diversification.

We believe that alternative investments should form a key part of a client’s portfolio, complementing its existing components while adding value – whether that’s by investment management skill or asset exposure. With this belief in mind, we offer a range of solutions to our clients.

We also believe in an active multi-manager approach for an alternatives allocation, recognising the importance of diversification in terms of both manager and style. Furthermore, our approach includes an ongoing review and assessment of the overall blend of approaches.

Our range of alternative strategies presents our clients with options that are appropriate for a diverse spectrum of investment goals, preferences and objectives. We seek to manage asset class correlations to enhance risk-adjusted returns and reduce the volatility of the investment portfolios of which they are a part.

Our Alternatives approach

Our approach is based on identifying alternative investment opportunities, developing products and services to meet client needs, and partnering with established and proven alternative firms. These elements are combined to achieve the outcomes that our clients demand.

As well as delivering a proven track record of performance, we differentiate our alternative capabilities in the following ways:

  • Controlling costs: To ensure the best terms for our clients, we use our global buying power and scale to access preferential pricing and collaborate with external managers not easily accessible by individual investors. This lets us gain access to those funds and products that best suit our client requirements and at a lower cost than otherwise available.
  • Risk management excellence: Leveraging work we have done as a firm to analyse traditional, non-traditional and enterprise risks, we have the ability to holistically manage risk types typically associated with alternative investments. Such risks include investment, liquidity, operational and organisational factors. We dedicate substantial resources to ensure our risk management professionals, platforms and processes are among the best in the industry. Our independent risk and quantitative teams work alongside our alternatives team to monitor and manage risk.
  • Diversify portfolios and enhance returns: With low correlations to traditional asset classes, alternatives can be a beneficial way to diversify your portfolio, improving the risk and return profile of a portfolio.

All of our investment strategies are underpinned by our proprietary research. We currently offer the following alternative strategies which can be tailored to suit client specific objectives:

  • Multi-Manager Target Return Fund: The Multi-Manager Target Return Fund seeks capital appreciation with an emphasis on absolute return by investing in a number of high quality global managers. The underlying funds invest in a wide range of assets, using a variety of investment strategies. This fund aims to achieve a return of 4% over cash, measured over a rolling four-year period.
  • Absolute Alpha: The fund has at its core specific return and volatility targets, and invests in a range of uncorrelated hedge fund strategies managed by global best-in-class managers. This fund aims to achieve a return of 4% over cash, measured over a rolling four-year period.
  • Irish Infrastructure Fund: The Irish Infrastructure Fund, which is co-managed by AMP Capital, experts in the field of infrastructure investments, invests directly in a diversified range of infrastructure assets in Ireland. The fund aims to provide long-term investors with a stable return, from a combination of income yield and capital growth, by investing in a portfolio of infrastructure assets which underpin the Irish economy. Examples of the fund’s current holdings include the Convention Centre Dublin, eNet/Airspeed and a portfolio of primary care centres.
  • Put-Write Strategy: Launched in early 2017, our Put-Write Strategy offers a opportunity to achieve both attractive risk-adjusted returns and income. Investors earn a premium by selling put options, which is an effective means of diversifying developed-market equity exposure and return sources while generating regular income. We combine a quantitative and research-based approach with a disciplined process to target equity insurance risk premia – while managing downside risk.

Our team of alternative investment managers leverages their skill and experience to deliver a range of solutions that are highly adaptable and tailored to meet the real needs facing investors today.

Key Contacts

Lenny McLoughlin
Lenny McLoughlin
Chief Investment Strategist

Lenny was appointed Fund Management Economist in August 2012 and is a member of the asset allocation committee. Previously, he was responsible for managing the financial and retail sectors in ILIM’s active global equity funds. Lenny has over 25 years’ experience in the financial industry.

Prior to joining ILIM in July 2005, Lenny worked for Zurich, AIB and Aviva Investors in equity research and investment management roles.

Lenny graduated with a B.A. in Economics from Trinity College Dublin in 1986, and became an Associate Member of the Institute of Investment Management & Research in 1990.

Darragh O’Dowd
Darragh O’Dowd
Head of Multi-Asset Solutions

Darragh is Head of ILIM’s Multi-Asset Solutions Team. He is responsible for the overall design and management of Irish Life’s MAPS, Ireland’s fastest growing retail multi-asset solution. Darragh and his team are also responsible for helping our clients, across all distribution platforms, design portfolios congruent with their specific objectives and constraints.

Darragh joined ILIM in 2007 as a Quantitative Analyst within the Quantitative Strategies Group and in 2016 was made Head of Portfolio Solutions. Darragh has lectured at UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School on the MSc Finance, MSc Quantitative Finance and MSc Aviation Finance curricula and prior to joining ILIM, worked as a research assistant and lectured various courses at UCD School of Business including Corporate Finance, Econometrics, and Financial Modelling.

Darragh earned a Bachelor of Commerce (BComm) from University College Dublin in 2000, a master’s degree in Quantitative Finance from UCD Michael Smurfit Graduate Business School in 2002, and a master’s degree in Statistics (MSc) from UCD in 2013 and he holds both the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) designations.

Peter Haran
Peter Haran
Head of Multi-Asset Strategies

Peter Haran has been appointed to the position of Head of Multi-Asset Strategies at ILIM. Peter joined ILIM and was appointed to ILIM’s Executive Fund Management group as Head of Alternative Strategies in November 2014. In that role Peter was responsible for the management and development of ILIM’s alternative investment capabilities, including the Multi-Manager Target Return Fund, the Absolute Alpha Fund and the Irish Infrastructure Fund.

Prior to joining ILIM, Peter worked at the National Treasury Management Agency as Head of Investment Strategy for the National Pensions Reserve Fund (NPRF). Prior to his career at the NTMA, Peter was a Portfolio Manager with IIU Asset Strategies for over nine years. During that time, Peter was Fund Manager to the IIU European Long/Short Fund and the IIU Breakout Managed Futures Fund.

Peter holds a bachelor’s degree in Applied Mathematics from Dublin City University and a master’s degree in Computer Applications, also from Dublin City University.

Ronan Bradley
Ronan Bradley
Head of Quantitative Research

Ronan leads the Research team within the Quantitative Strategies Group, responsible for researching, back-testing and implementing quantitative investment strategies across a variety of asset classes.

Within the equity space, he has led the research agenda which now covers over 100 proprietary factors and developed ILIM’s multi-factor stock selection model. In the area of foreign exchange, he has developed the last two iterations of ILIM’s currency model. Within asset allocation, he has developed the Dynamic Share to Cash model, a core component of ILIM’s multi-asset funds, and more recently a Bond-Cash model for sovereign fixed income strategies. Other research areas include the development and deployment of asset risk models and portfolio optimisation tools. 

Prior to joining ILIM, Ronan earned a PhD in Electromagnetic Modelling (TCD), a master’s degree in Theoretical Physics (TCD), and a BSc. in Physics and Applied Mathematics (QUB).

Paul Murray
Paul Murray
Quantitative Portfolio Manager

As a member of the Quantitative Research team, Paul is responsible for the ongoing identification and refinement of ILIM’s proprietary factor model inputs and multi-factor modelling approach. Since joining ILIM, he has led several research projects, including ESG factor identification.

Paul has over 10 years of investment experience at leading buy-side institutions. Prior to joining ILIM, he worked for Callisto Asset Management, a systematic equity market neutral fund manager, where he was a Senior Research Analyst and Portfolio Manager responsible for the development and oversight of investment strategies.

He also held a quantitative research position at Fidelity International, where he was involved in the development of global equity strategies and was co-lead on the systematic-based optimised and passive fund mandates, which held a combined AUM of c. $3 billion. Before joining Fidelity, Paul spent four years as a senior member of the Quantitative Equity team at Pioneer Investment Management, where he was responsible for alpha strategy development and portfolio management of the Pioneer European Quant Equity fund ($1billion AUM).

Paul has an MSc in Quantitative Finance from University College Dublin, and a BSc in Financial & Actuarial Mathematics from Dublin City University. He also holds the Investment Management Certificate (IMC) from the CFA Society of the UK

Brian Faley
Brian Faley
Senior Portfolio Manager

Brian joined ILIM in 2012 and is a Senior Portfolio Manager in the Portfolio Solutions team. He is responsible for the development and management of multi-asset solutions, portfolio modelling and product research and design.   

Brian previously worked on ILIM’s Indexation team, where he was responsible for managing a range of equity, fixed income and fx hedged indexed funds.

Prior to joining ILIM in 2012, Brian spent three years as an investment analyst with Johnson & Johnson where he was responsible for the management of Johnson & Johnson’s money market investments.

Brian has an MSc in Business Analytics from UCD Smurfit Business School, a B.A. Honours degree in Business & Economics from Trinity College Dublin and is a CFA charterholder.

Shane Murphy
Shane Murphy
Head of Manager Selection and Derivatives

Shane joined ILIM in 2006 and works in the Multi-Asset team as the Head of Manager Selection and Derivatives.

He has a BA in Mathematics from TCD as well as Masters degrees in Quantitative Finance (UCD) and Investment & Treasury (DCU). Prior to joining ILIM in 2006, Shane began his career in Naspa Dublin in 2003 where he worked as a credit analyst. 

Upon joining ILIM, Shane worked in the Quant Strategies Team for 10 years before moving to the Alternatives Team.  He has led this team since 2020, which oversees ILIM’s third-party managed funds and derivatives strategies.

Jack Delany
Jack Delany
Quantitative Portfolio Manager

Jack joined ILIM in 2018 and is a quantitative portfolio manager within the Quantitative Strategies Group.

Prior to joining ILIM, Jack worked for RPMI Railpen in London where he was responsible for strategic asset allocation and investment modelling across a range of multi-asset funds.

Jack holds a BA Economics from Trinity College Dublin and an MSc Finance from Warwick Business School. He is a CFA charterholder.

Leonie MacCann
Leonie MacCann
Head of Client Investment Solutions

Leonie Mac Cann is Head of Client Investment Solutions, within the Multi Asset Solutions Team. She is responsible for working with clients, across multiple distribution platforms, to help design and manage multi asset portfolios in line with their specific objectives and constraints.

Leonie joined ILIM in 2020 and has over 10 years of investment experience. Prior to joining ILIM, Leonie worked for IBM in their in-house asset management team covering the non-US pension plans. This covered strategic asset allocation, manager selection and portfolio management of a number of pension plans and in-house funds. Before this Leonie worked with Davy in their Private Clients business and spent a number of years as an investment consultant with Willis Towers Watson.

Leonie earned a B.A. Honours degree from Trinity College Dublin in Economics and Philosophy, a Masters in Finance from Bayes Business School, London, and is a CFA charterholder.

Tim Howes
Tim Howes
Quantitative Investment Analyst

Tim joined ILIM’s Quantitative Strategies Group as a Quantitative Investment Analyst in 2021. He is responsible for supporting fund performance and new strategy development through undertaking quantitative studies and analysis.

 Tim has an MSc in Computational Mathematical Finance from the University of Edinburgh and a BSc in Financial Mathematics from University College Dublin.

How can we help?

Irish Life Investment Managers (ILIM) is the appointed asset manager to Irish Life Group Limited. ILIM is committed to innovating and leading the market with best in class investment solutions designed to meet the specific investment needs of our clients. Call us at: +353-1-704 1200 or email info@ilim.com.

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