Credit Suisse is to outsource the administration of its Guernsey-domiciled funds of hedge funds managed internationally by Credit Suisse Asset Managers, which were previously serviced in-house.
The business will be moved to the new provider over the next six months. Credit Suisse will not disclose the name of the third-part administrator, nor the volume of assets involved, but says the new service provider is “one of the biggest fund of funds administrators globally”.
A spokeswoman for Credit Suisse says: “The outsourcing of our fund of funds administration business in Guernsey involves devolving a non-core administrative function, which is in line with our strategy to provide a core, client-orientated service focusing on offering strong investment performance to our asset management clients.”
The spokeswoman says that the group’s banking, wealth management and trust businesses in Guernsey are not affected by the deal, and insists that it remains committed to the island.
Credit Suisse established a presence in Guernsey in 1986 and has had a fund administration operation in the island since 1989. The outsourcing deal will affect more than 40 local employees, including several contractors, who will leave in the course of the six-month handover. The group employs around 300 people in Guernsey.
The outsourcing move was foreshadowed last year when Credit Suisse announced plans to restructure its Guernsey fund administration business, as part of a global strategy review that also saw the sale in 2009 of part of Credit Suisse’s investment management business to Aberdeen Asset Management.
The decision to outsource the Guernsey fund of funds administration business comes at a time when another part of Credit Suisse is finalising the acquisition of the former Fortis Prime Fund Solutions alternative fund administration business.
The spokeswoman adds: “The Fortis acquisition relates to our prime services business within the investment banking division. In anticipation of client demand, prime services are developing a broader integrated offering to better serve the investment bank’s hedge fund clients.”
She adds that while the Prime Fund Solutions deal is a global one, the Credit Suisse Fund Administration sale involves a local stand-alone non-core Guernsey administrative function.
