Henderson Global Investors is to outsource the middle and back office services for USD 2 billion in hedge fund assets to JPMorgan HFS.
Henderson Global Investors is to outsource the middle and back office services for USD 2 billion in hedge fund assets to JPMorgan HFS.
Under the agreement, JPMorgan HFS will take over Henderson’s hedge fund middle and back office and its employees, which service 14 hedge funds. Henderson has signed a multi-year contract for JPMorgan HFS to provide daily operational services and fund administration for those funds.
The agreement comes two months after JPMorgan HFS acquired the middle and back office operations of Paloma Partners Management Company (Paloma Partners) in Greenwich, CT, and is an expansion of JPMorgan HFS’s global business. Henderson’s hedge funds will be serviced by JPMorgan HFS’s new London office.
‘We believe the outsourced administration market is now mature enough for us to make a step change in the way we administer these highly complex products,’ says Shirley Garrood, Chief Operating Officer at Henderson. ‘Our aim was to find a sustainable solution for a fast growing part of our business that allows us to build and launch new funds quickly into the market. Underpinning this is a requirement for a fully connected middle and back office daily solution, supported by strong investor servicing capabilities. The above factors, in particular, played to JPMorgan’s strengths.’
Bhagesh Malde, Global Business Head of JPMorgan HFS, added: ‘This agreement with Henderson, one of the most respected and well-known international asset managers, validates the strength and global reach of our newly expanded Hedge Fund Services business. The agreement will allow Henderson to focus on what asset managers do best – making investment decisions.’
Background notes: Established in 1934, Henderson Global Investors is a leading independent global asset management firm. The company provides its institutional, retail and high net-worth clients with access to skilled investment professionals representing a broad range of asset classes, including equities, fixed income, property and private capital. Headquartered in London, Henderson is one of Europe’s largest investment managers, with GBP 67.7 billion assets under management (as at December 2005) and employs around 900 people world-wide.
JPMorgan Hedge Fund Services (HFS) provides administration and operational services that help hedge funds improve returns, lower costs and reduce risk. HFS is part of JPMorgan Worldwide Securities Services (WSS), a division of JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A. WSS is a global industry leader in the securities processing business with USD 11.7 trillion in assets under custody. WSS provides innovative securities services, including custody, fund administration and accounting, securities lending and market products as well as clearance and collateral management services to the world’s largest institutional investors and debt and equity issuers.
