Irish Life sees Dolmen as a road to riches

One More Thing:Irish Life & Permanent's interest in Dolmen Stockbrokers follows a trend in the financial services market - the fight for Ireland's HiNWIs (pronounced Hine-wees) or high net worth individuals.

The Irish private client market is flush with cash as many investors "went liquid" last year, selling UK commercial properties when rental yields dipped and taking gains when stocks reached record levels.

Most are sitting pretty, waiting for markets to "bottom out" before deciding where to invest. No one knows this more than the bankers, who can see the cash balances of their richest clients.

This has attracted the likes of international bank Goldman Sachs into the Irish market and has grown the private clients divisions of brokerages and Irish private equity firms.

Denis Casey, chief executive of Irish Life & Permanent, has made it clear that one of the group's strategic objectives in the coming years is to tap the mass affluent market and the Republic's growing household wealth, which IL&P believes will grow from €700 billion now to about €1.3 trillion by 2015.

Buying a stockbroking firm would be a new departure for IL&P. Dolmen, whose private client business accounts for around two-thirds of its business, would fit well with IL&P's wealth management unit, which was set up last year.

It would give the group a strong footing in the wealth market despite recent precariousness in the sector. The private client market took a pummelling in the second half of last year as equities nosedived and investors got burnt contracts for difference (CFDs).

Casey is not for turning, however, and believes investors will return, judging by the bullishness of his comments to the Leinster Society of Chartered Accountants this week. He said investors had treated Irish banks "savagely" in 2007, but the market would come to realise their strength again.

Taking over Dolmen would leave IL&P well primed for when investors start returning.