Overseas Property: Irish people considering investing abroad should seek professional advice prior to taking the plunge, says Pat McArdle, chief economist of Ulster Bank, who will be among a number of speakers at a symposium aimed at financial and legal advisors this weekend.

Figures indicate that Irish investment in foreign property will exceed €6 billion this year, according to McArdle, who said many of the larger legal and financial institutions have teams dedicated to keep up to speed with various markets, but many of the smaller operators don't have the time or resources to dedicate to this area.

The symposium of leading experts in domestic and foreign property investment will be held at then City West Convention Centre on Friday between 9am and 4pm. It aims to provide an advisory platform for financial and legal intermediaries.

Hosted by John Bowman, guest speakers will include Pat McArdle from Ulster Bank, Hugh Campbell, director of tax and legal services with PriceWaterhouseCoopers, Jack Harty, business development manager with Bank of Ireland, and Peter Gage, managing director of Ober-Haus.

In conjunction with the symposium, a property exhibition with over 100 property exhibitors will take place.

• The Investment Property Exhibition in City West runs from September 8th to September 10th.

• For further information visit www.investexpo.ie.