KBC Asset Management in Dublin is gearing up to widen its client base beyond the British Isles. It has hired J Stephan & Co to market its funds in the US institutional market and has started to consider its options for the Continent.

The firm was created last July following Brussels-based KBC Bank's purchase of Ulster Bank Investment Management from Royal Bank of Scotland. It currently has &euro8.8bn ($8bn) in assets under management and believes it can double that in five years. KBC also has an asset management division in Brussels, which is managed separately.