Simplicity is key for the new generation of Irish investors. Institutions adopting a basic yet educational ethos - such as Bank of Ireland Asset Management (BIAM) and AIB's Ark Life - have seen significant growth in business.

BIAM's Investment Advice for Life booklet and Ark Life's Pensions Made Simple and Life Made Simple brochures have been printed several times due to customer demand. Product design and flexibility are also important to consumers and, to date, one particular product range appears to have met these demands.

Six months ago, Irish Life and Permanent launched a product range called Scope in a blaze of publicity. The product is similar to US mutual funds and is designed to make investing in shares more accessible. The marketing material has been approved by the Plain English campaign for its clarity and ease of understanding.

Shares Made Simple explains share investment and risk and return profiles. It then proceeds to the products themselves, each of which is designed for a particular risk profile.

To date, five funds - Securescope, Wisdomscope, Europascope, Celticscope and Telescope - have proven very popular with investors and the product structure is widely admired by Irish Life and Permanent's competitors.

The company claims the funds have taken in £80 million (€101 million) in six months and are selling at a rate of £500,000 a day. Scope's success may reflect the public desire for easy-to-understand, jargon-free, accessible funds. Investors may also be more computer savvy and require instant access to their fund information.

Marketing manager for investments, Mr Arthur McEntegart says the product is appealing to a whole range of individuals. Some customers are seasoned investors who put in a lump sum while others are novices investing the £2,000 minimum. The average premium is £17,000, he said.

"The important thing about this investment is time, not timing. Five years plus is suggested for investment," he said.

The performance figures for the funds have recently been released. Scope's Telescope Fund, which was suggested as an alternative to investment in Eircom, is up 20 per cent over the six months to November 19th.

Europascope is up 15.5 per cent for the same period and Wisdomscope is up 3.5 per cent for six months. Celticscope, which concentrates on the Irish market is up 0.7 per cent. Of course, it is not all good news: guaranteed product securescope is down 1 per cent. These performance figures are based on after tax calculations.

Despite the generally rosy figures and a move in the right direction for many investment managers, investors should remember that past performance is no guarantee of future results. A bear, or downward moving, market may be lurking just around the corner. "We'd stress that it's a five-year investment and customers can't expect 20 per cent every six months and we don't want to try to raise expectations," said Mr McEntegart.

The product carries no entry charge but a minimum of £2,000 must be invested in the funds which are managed on an index basis. Investors may swap into different funds at no cost.

Traditionally, the investment community believed customers demanded a physical structure, such as a branch office, in which to do their business. Times have changed as shown by Scope's automated phone, teletext and Internet services, which are used by 35 per cent of customers. "We're seeing a shift in the way people want access and they are quite happy to use automated services," he said. Customers also receive account updates by mail on a twice-yearly basis.

Scope charges a fund management fee of 1.5 per cent per annum. As a medium-term product, penalties are incurred for an exit from Scope during the first five years: in year one there is a 5 per cent penalty; year two, 4 per cent; year three, 3 per cent; year four, 2 per cent and year five, 1 per cent. There are no exit penalties after the fifth year.

The success of the Scope product and those investment managers adopting a consumer-friendly ethos may lead to a reassessment by those in the wider investment industry that have done little to update their strategies.