Goodbody Stockbrokers

Goodbody Stockbrokers is Ireland's longest established stockbroking firm with roots dating back to 1877. As well as being one of the leading institutional brokers, it is one of the largest private client firms in Ireland. It is a member firm of the Irish Stock Exchange and a SETS participant of the London Stock Exchange. The company has offices in Dublin, Galway and Cork. It employs 222 people and owns 26.2 per cent of the Irish Stock Exchange[1][2]

Goodbody Stockbrokers was acquired by FEXCO in January 2010[3] for €24 million.[4][5][6][7] The Financial Times commented that the lowly price tag placed on Ireland’s oldest stockbroker and "one-time bastion of Ireland’s Protestant business elite" was just another measure of the dramatic decline of the Irish economy.[8][9] Allied Irish Banks were likely to have had to indemnify, Fexco, the new majority owners of Goodbody Stockbrokers against any legal action arising from the firm's boom-time trading.[10] The deal saw the broker’s own management take a 25 per cent stake in the business.

Ireland has two large (one of which is Goodbody), and half a dozen medium-sized brokerages. A report by the Central Bank of Ireland in January 2013 warned there will have to be mergers of firms to ensure the industry survives, but this process will have to be done in a controlled way—because any instability in the sector could pose a danger to many people's savings, and prevent new businesses from raising money at a time when banks are not lending.[11][12] The business is “doing okay”, its largest shareholder said. From time to time, there are rumours that Fexco is looking at selling its share, but no sooner do they surface than they are scotched.[13]

Organisational structure

Goodbody Stockbrokers is divided into the following main business units:

Goodbody private clients

As one of the largest private client firms in Ireland, the Goodbody Private Clients division sells investment services and "solutions".

Goodbody institutional equities and research

Goodbody Stockbrokers has a strong institutional equity franchise with big institutional clients.[14] It offers broker services to both institutional and corporate clients and has a large equity research team.

Goodbody corporate finance

Goodbody Corporate Finance was established in 1996 and has grown to become one of Ireland's leading corporate finance houses.

Awards

In the 2011 Extel Survey, Goodbody Stockbrokers took 4 of the 7 awards on offer for Ireland, taking 2 of the 4 company awards and 2 of the 3 individual awards.[15] In the 2011 Starmine Awards the Food and Beverage Analyst, Liam Igoe was ranked 6th in the Top 10 Earnings Estimators in Europe.[16]

Press

Goodbody Stockbrokers is planning to open a bonds desk, marking its return to fixed-income trading since 1997. Now that Goodbody is part of the Kerry-based Fexco financial services group, it is keen to re-establish itself in bonds.[17]

Goodbody continually issued "Buy" recommendations for its then parent, notwithstanding its worsening financial position, and used Client Discretionary mandates to invest their monies in Allied Irish Banks at the start of the 2008-2011 Irish banking crisis in November 2008, which generated adverse comment.[18][19] When asked if they had ever issued a sell notice on AIB, a Goodbody spokesman said "I don't know if we even keep records going back that far".[20]

A Northern Ireland property fund which was launched by Goodbody in 2005 had its value of investments written down to nil in 2009. A solicitor said the fund invested in residential property, even though his client had said she did not want any exposure to residential property. The stockbrokers made £1.1 million in commission from the £27 million put up by investors at the outset.[21]

The broker was ridiculed publicly in 2007 after it told its clients to buy the stock of an American pharma stock at $3.09 and gave it a price target of $5.70. Less than a week later, it was recommending that the same clients sell the same stock when it was trading at $0.83.[22]

In May 2010 the EU began investigating claims that AIB misused state aid by attaching conditions to loan deals, unfairly affecting competition in the Irish stockbroking market but benefiting Goodbody.[23]

References

  1. ↑ Hancock, Ciarán (24 June 2011). "Return to bonds trading for Goodbody brokers – The Irish Times – Fri, Jun 24, 2011". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  2. ↑ The Irish Times | 14 April 2014 | Davy takes largest stake in restructured exchange | http://www.irishtimes.com/business/sectors/financial-services/davy-takes-largest-stake-in-restructured-exchange-1.1761500
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ Independent Woman (15 January 2010). "Goodbody may be sold as part of AIB restructure – Irish, Business". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  5. ↑ Daly, Gavin (27 June 2010). "Fexco to pay €20 million for Goodbody Stockbrokers | The Post". Sbpost.ie. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  6. ↑ "Sat, Jul 03, 2010 – Cantillon". The Irish Times. 7 July 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  7. ↑ Archived 23 September 2010 at the Wayback Machine.
  8. ↑ "/ Companies / Financial Services – Goodbody sale highlights economic decline". Financial Times. 27 September 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  9. ↑ Independent Woman (26 September 2010). "Fexco makes a bargain basement deal for Goodbody – Irish, Business". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  10. ↑ independent.ie apps (29 June 2010). "AIB to indemnify buyers of Goodbody against litigation – Irish, Business". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  11. ↑ "Central Bank finds major problems with stockbrokers". Irish Independent.
  12. ↑ "Calls for top-secret report on brokers to be released". Irish Independent.
  13. ↑ The Irish Times http://www.irishtimes.com/newspaper/finance/2013/0201/1224329513819.html. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  14. ↑ "Tue, Sep 21, 2010 – AIB to sell stockbroker Goodbody for €24m". The Irish Times. 9 September 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  15. ↑ RTÉ News (PDF) http://www.rte.ie/news/business/morningrep/download/0610goodbody.pdf. Missing or empty |title= (help)
  16. ↑ http://www.ft.com/intl/cms/d05f9226-850a-11e0-871e-00144feabdc0.pdf?bcsi_scan_6325FD1828C127E8=0&bcsi_scan_filename=d05f9226-850a-11e0-871e-00144feabdc0.pdf
  17. ↑ Hancock, Ciarán (24 June 2011). "Return to bonds trading for Goodbody brokers – The Irish Times – Fri, Jun 24, 2011". The Irish Times. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  18. ↑ Prissy Blouses: (7 February 2010). "Shane Ross: Goodbody takes a bath in AIB – Shane Ross, Columnists". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  19. ↑ GrabOne daily deals (7 February 2010). "Clients of AIB's brokerage firm told to exit BoI – Irish, Business". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  20. ↑ Ross Shane, The Bankers, Page 147, Penguin Ireland 2009, ISBN 978-0-14-104444-6
  21. ↑ "Goodbody clients' investment of €31m in property fund wiped out | The Post". Thepost.ie. 7 November 2010. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  22. ↑ GrabOne daily deals (13 May 2007). "The least influential people in business – Irish, Business". The Irish Independent. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
  23. ↑ Clerkin, David (23 May 2010). "EU launches AIB probe after complaint by Davy | The Post". Sbpost.ie. Retrieved 18 October 2011.
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