Australian fund manager Perpetual Investments has beefed up its Dublin-based subsidiary, which manages about €1.2 billion in client assets.

Under a new structure, PI Investment Management (PIIM), which began trading out of Dublin in March 2005, has become one of four standalone business units.

This means the Dublin office will now have greater responsibility for the sales and marketing of Perpetual's global equity investments outside Australia. Previously, the Irish office was largely only responsible for manufacturing these products, a role it will continue to have.

Sydney-based Perpetual has also appointed David Boal as managing director of the Irish base. Before joining PIIM in late 2004, Mr Boal spent five years with Bank of Ireland Asset Management, managing offices in Frankfurt and Jersey.

PIIM employs 20 staff here and in London, where it operates a sub office. Mr Boal said the company hoped to expand this to about 25 over the next 12 months.

David Deverall, Perpetual's group managing director and chief executive, said the new structure would create a "greater alignment" between its strategy and organisation structure.

"An important aspect of the new structure was affirmation of [ Dublin-based] global equities as a key growth engine for Perpetual," he said.

He described the move as a "logical and positive step" for PIIM.

Rory McIntyre, who established the Irish operation, has returned to Sydney.

PIIM launched here with a bang by poaching four prominent members of Bank of Ireland Asset Management in September 2004 to help build the business.

The group has eight equity managers responsible for its global equity products.