The Gazette 1989

GAZETTE

DECEMBER 1989

which it is intended to launch in Ireland in the near future. The article by Michael Lane of New Ireland Assurance Co. pic on the Investment Duties of Pension Fund Trustees will be of wider interest. Most solicitors could derive benefit from the review of trustee's duties generally. Other topics of particular rele- vance to legal practitioners incTude those on "Currency Hedging in Pension Fund Investment Perform- ance" (by Donal O'Mahony of Allied Irish Investment Managers Ltd) and on "Capital Movements and Exchange Con t r o l" (by Robin Clapham of Industrial Credit Corporation Fund Management Ltd.) both of which will be of interest not only in the context of pension funds but in the wider area of commercial practice generally. However, while adverting above to a number of items which would seem of special interest to lawyers, credit must be accorded to the articles as a whole. They are characterised by their clarity, use- fulness and overall readability. It may seem curmudgeonly to suggest one or two aspects of the work which might merit attention on a future occasion. Matters which might usefully have been treated of among the essays this year are the pension fund levy and the European Community legal regime on UCITs. Moreover, the section of the work entitled "Data Section" consists largely of lists of people and entities (with their key personnel) involved in the investment area; this is in- formation which must change well- nigh weekly and could perhaps be included in replaceable loose-leaf form and/or provided on screen. If it were possible at a future date, there would be merit in segregating the work into, on the one hand, a journal published periodically in permanent form containing the articles and kindred matter and, on the other, a handbook in loose-leaf form or on screen setting forth the more rapidly evolving reference information. None of the foregoing observa- tions ought to detract from the commendable achievement of the editor, Dr. Terence Ryan, and his team of contributors. Irish and other professionals will be indebted for the industry and learning evident in an admirably produced volume. In an era of accelerating deregulation

pages of A4 size. In addition, there is a Data Section and Company and Personnel Details. The articles are generally 3 or 4 pages in length. Senior persons in virtually every major player in the financial services sector are counted among the authors. Most emphasis is given to various aspects of pension funds and fund manage- ment, the gilt and equity markets and certain institutions including the Stock Exchange and the Irish Futures and Options Exchange (IFOX). The articles strike a nice balance; they are neither superficial nor incomprehensibly technical. Most are in the nature of "over- views" in the chosen areas of the specialist authors and enable the non-financial specialist (or, indeed, sub-specialist) reader to follow salient recent developments in, or significant aspects of, the chosen topics. The subject-matter of the contributions is not merely well- chosen, being relevant to the fin- ancially aware solicitor, but the contributions are also well balanced with relatively little avoidable over- lap between them. Taste and interest are quintess- entially subjective. But the reader of this volume has a rich and varied menu from which to choose. Far be it from the present reviewer to limit the horizons of the worldly wise and prescient solicitor. But some topics do particularly catch the legal eye. Frank Close of Ulster Investment Bank has written on the subject of "Property Unitisation"; the pro- moters of this concept, following a UK model, aim to create a market whereby units in a single property could be traded. The chosen vehicle for this would be the creation of what amount to saleable rent charges. Securities could be made available in units created on the "unitisation" of a single property; these could be traded as a unit in an authorised unit trust (or SPOT - single property ownership trust). The other device in the UK is known as a PINC - property income certificates - giving a contractual right to share in a property's rental income flow together with a share in a specifically created manage- ment company reponsible to the investors for the management of property. Property lawyers will be particularly interested in the legal (real property), conveyancing and taxation aspects of the scheme

and the blurring of traditional boundaries between the professions solicitors would be wise to include this work among their reading. Patrick J.C. McGovern Solicitor

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