Staff changes at its Guernsey office is not a precursor to the transfer of fund administration operations outside the island, according to alternative fund service provider Butterfield Fulcrum Group.
The jobs of six staff at the firm’s Guernsey office have been terminated as a result of the implementation of new technology by the group, a spokeswoman says.
However, she insists that local concerns that there were plans to transfer funds or business away from Guernsey were unfounded. All staff affected by the changes had been offered alternative positions in other parts of the business, the spokeswoman says, but not all had accepted.
“Like many financial services businesses, fund administration is highly technology-driven,” she says. “Butterfield Fulcrum’s future success depends on seamless global infrastructure able to complete and record investment activity in real time on a 24/7 basis.”
Butterfield Fulcrum’s shift to a common technology platform across all of the group’s businesses is client-driven and the firm does not expect any negative impact on their clients as a result of the reduction in headcount, according to the spokeswoman, who says they should in fact benefit from the changes..
“Migrating to their global operating model will strengthen Butterfield Fulcrum’s ability to service clients efficiently and effectively, to be successful as a business, and to continue to employ people in Guernsey,” she says.
“Furthermore, the [firm’s] continued commitment to Guernsey is evident in the process [it] has undertaken to strengthen the management team under the leadership of Andrew Howat, and through a new director-level recruit to lead corporate secretarial activities in the island.”
Butterfield Fulcrum, which traces its origins to Bermuda and was created by the 2008 merger of Fulcrum Group and Butterfield Fund Services, has offices in nine countries and services more than 800 funds..
