Taking a leap of faith on Irish recovery

One of America’s most successful fund managers likes to pick off investment prospects which are overlooked by the pack — and Ireland is reaping the benefit of his foresight, writes Kyran Fitzgerald

He has yet to celebrate his 40th birthday, yet Michael Hasenstab is already viewed as one of America’s most successful fund managers with a 10-year return batting average of over 12% a year.

Hasenstab stands out for another reason. Since the middle of 2011, he has invested increasing amounts of money in Irish government bonds, to the point where his company, Franklin Templeton, holds around €8.5bn of our national debt — more than 10% of the total committed by private lenders.