Investor demands helps boost Irish Life profits

Irish Life has said that demand from investors for products to help beat low returns from low deposit rates currently offered by banks had helped boost the profits at the pensions and investments firm.

It said yesterday it had contributed CAD$80m (€57m) to the profits of its Canadian parent group Great-West Lifeco in the first quarter, an increase of 54% from a year earlier.

The Government separated the profitable Irish Life from the pensions and banking group Irish Life & Permanent at the height of the financial crisis, and subsequently completed the sale of the firm to Great-West Lifeco, in 2013.

The receipts from the €1.3bn sale helped reduce the bill the state faced from recapitalising Permanent TSB.

The improving economy has since helped Irish Life increase sales of its pension and investment products.

Chief executive Bill Kyle at Irish Life said the funds in the retail market of its so-called multi-asset portfolio strategies products had increased significantly amid demand for investment products “that offer potential to out-perform low deposit rates.”

Rising financial markets had increased the value of assets managed by its Irish Life Investment Managers to over €50bn.

The company also confirmed that ILIM had earlier this year been awarded the contract to manage the investments and asset servicing requirements of Ark Life, valued at over €2bn.

Its Canadian parent said that strong sales and higher asset values across north America and Europe boosted its net profit to CAD$700m in the first quarter this year, a rise of 19% from a year earlier.