Aquest Podcast

The latest episode of The Aquest Podcast is now live, and we are diving deep into one of the most discussed topics in the funds industry: Delegation. In this season finale, my regular co-host Dáire Lawlor joins me to unpack the complexities of delegation and outsourcing. We explore the frequently asked questions that continue to surface for fund management companies, providing clarity on the nuanc...

We're thrilled to announce the latest episode of The Aquest Podcast is ready! 🎧 In this episode, hosts Daniel Lawlor and Dáire Lawlor dive deep into the world of Exchange Traded Funds (ETFs), tackling the most frequently asked questions about this financial powerhouse. Key takeaways from the discussion: What makes ETFs so popular? It's a combination of low fees, ease of access, and the simplicity...

In the latest episode of The Aquest Podcast, "Navigating the Crypto Landscape", we dive deep into the world of digital assets with our co-host and crypto expert, Dáire Lawlor. The conversation spans the entire "broad church" of crypto, from highly regulated tokenised money market funds to the speculative excitement of meme coins. Key Takeaways from the Episode: The Broad Church...

Dive into the latest episode of The Aquest Podcast, Autumn-Winter 2025 Season, Episode 2: "Love Languages of a Financial Regulator"! 🎙️ Join co-hosts Daniel Lawlor and Dáire Lawlor as they adopt their "agony aunt personas" to tackle frequently asked questions about engaging with financial regulators. This episode explores effective strategies for firms to build relationships of...

The Aquest Podcast is back for a new season! We are excited to launch the first episode of our Autumn/Winter 2025 season, titled "I'm a Funds Lawyer... Get Me Out of Here!" This season, we're introducing a new format. Join hosts Danny Lawlor and Dáire Lawlor as they take on the role of industry "agony aunts," tackling the pressing questions and challenges faced by professionals...

I'm joined by Bernadette Nulty, VP International Financial Services at IDA Ireland, for this episode of The Aquest Podcast. I was interested to learn about the types of financial services firms which are exploring the possibility of establish a presence in Ireland at the moment and the trends that IDA Ireland is seeing. I also wanted to understand the key factors that cause firms to choose Ireland...

The topic for this episode of The Aquest Podcast is a little more out of left field – I’m joined by Shannon Eastman to chat about ‘Nervous System Intelligence’. This is a new concept that explores and tries to explain the impact of long-term exposure to stress on the body and mind and our conversation focuses particularly on busy professionals and their work environment. Nervous System Intelligenc...

In Episode 3, I’m joined by Andrew Tzialli of Philip Lee LLP as we catch up on implementation of the Markets in Crypto Assets Regulation (MiCAR) 6 months away from it coming fully into force.  We discuss the levels of activity being seen and the potential for Ireland to position itself as the jurisdiction of choice for MiCA firms.  We also chat about other developments in the digital assets/digita...

In Episode 2, I’m joined by Declan Casey and Lauren Andersen of Irish Funds to chat about the EU Savings & Investments Union.  We discuss the SIU’s predecessor, the Capital Markets Union, and consider what’s different this time around.  We also chat about the EU Commission’s Targeted Consultation on Integration of EU Capital Markets which closes on 10 June 2025 with the Irish Funds team workin...

Welcome to the first episode of the Spring / Summer 2025 season of The Aquest Podcast. To kick things off, I’m joined by Sam Glynn who is a Security and Regulatory Compliance Advisor to Regulated Firms and Professional Services Providers. Our conversation begins with a catch up on DORA implementation and how the experience has been for regulated firms. We then discuss the potential cyber risks whi...

For the last episode of the winter 2024 season, I’m delighted to be joined by Jennifer Geary.  Jennifer hosts a new podcast called The C-Suite Framework and is author of a number of books including How to be a Chief Operating Officer .  Although critically important, the COO role is not much discussed, and the precise scope is often ill-defined.  So, I was interested to chat with Jennifer about wh...

In May 2024, the Expert Group on Future Skills Needs (EGFSN) published its report on Skills for International Financial Services - An Assessment of Future Skills Requirements in High Potential Sub-sectors of Ireland’s International Financial Services Sector to 2027. This report identifies the availability of training and education relevant to the financial services industry. It assesses where gaps...

For this episode of The Aquest Podcast, I’m delighted to be joined by Clive Bellows.  Clive is President for EMEA for Northern Trust and, more importantly (for the purposes of this episode at least!), the former Chairperson of basis.point.  basis.point is the Irish funds industry charity which funds programmes to improve outcomes for children experiencing disadvantage, with a particular focus on a...

As the 180-day transition period for EMIR REFIT drew to a close, I was joined by Aoife Storey and Michelle Kehoe of Fund Recs to reflect on how well (or otherwise!) the implementation of EMIR Refit has gone. We chatted about whether the anticipated challenges arose in practice and what unexpected speedbumps came along. We discussed where firms are at generally, in terms of complying with the new r...

This is a director’s chair episode of The Aquest Podcast and my guest is Eoin Motherway. Eoin is an experienced INED across a range of Irish regulated financial services firms and brings that wider perspective to our conversation. We chat about the current INED landscape and it is not long before our conversation turns to matters tech and digital-related. We discuss the state of readiness for DORA...

Chat about Artificial Intelligence (AI) is everywhere in the financial services world at the moment so I thought it would be useful to try to demystify AI and to explain some of the practical use cases for it.  To do that, I’m joined by Brian Walsh, CEO of Reitigh.  Brian explains why the FS industry has been an early adopter of this emerging technology and why it is not simply a fad.  We chat abo...

How FS and professional services firms develop an effective business strategy is the topic for this episode of The Aquest Podcast.  My guest is Annette Mahon who is a commercial strategy and business development consultant working exclusively with service providers and financial/fund services businesses. We chat about Annette’s journey into the funds industry and her observations as someone coming...

On this episode of the Aquest Podcast I’m joined by Adrian Mulryan, CEO of Invesco Investment Management to talk about ETFs (mostly!). We begin by reflecting on the predictions made by Adrian the last time he came on the podcast in 2018.  His predictions were pretty accurate, to be fair, and he wasn’t shy about reminding me either. We go on to chat about the continued growth of ETFs, both in terms...

It’s time to get techie on the Aquest Podcast and who better to guide us through the intersection of technology and financial services than Dáire Lawlor, MD at tech advisory firm Interwoven.   We chart the growing use and integration of technology in financial services firms from the early 2000s (when tech integration was patchy at best) through the global financial crisis in 2008 (which brought a...

In this ‘Director’s Chair’ episode of the Aquest Podcast I’m joined by Syl O’Byrne who has many years’ experience as a financial services lawyer, both in private practice and industry. We begin by chatting about Syl’s pathway to becoming an INED and his observations on the current funds landscape generally. We also chat about the impact of the Individual Accountability Framework from a director’s...

With the new EMIR REFIT (the revamp of the European Market Infrastructure Regulation) reporting requirements kicking-off on 29 April 2024, I’m joined by 2x EMIR REFIT experts to chat about what changes are being introduced and how firms are coping with implementation. Aoife Storey (Client Solutions Manager) and Gerard Gilsenan (Chief Revenue Office) of Fund Recs join me and share their insights an...

In this episode of the Aquest Podcast I catch up with Ann Shiels, sustainability expert with Finlexsus. Ann appeared on the show in May 2022 and I was interested to get her take on developments in market practices and regulations on ESG in the interim. We chat about SFDR 1.5/2.0, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, the regulation of ESG rating agencies and the current Common Supervis...

Impact of T+1 Settlement As firms in the US prepare for the momentous move to T+1 settlement in May 2024, I chat with Adrian Whelan, regulatory expert, about how this change will have a broad impact outside the US. With knowledge/appreciation of what's coming pretty patchy at best, we discuss the implications for firms on everything from fx to securities lending. We also chat about the steps that...

What are payment services? From time to time, I encounter firms where part of their business model involves receiving money from clients which the firm holds and later transmits to a third party. For me, this always begs the question 'Is this a payment service?' Sometimes it is and sometimes it isn't. But it is often a question which the firm has not thought to ask and one which they will need hel...

Reducing Friction in the Payments Process When he was CEO of a communications business, Feargal Brady saw the inefficiencies in the current payments process first hand - and he vowed to do something about it! So, when he exited the communications industry, he entered the financial services world and set up payments firm - NoFrixion - whose mission is to rid the world of unnecessary hassle in the p...