Citco Strengthens Ireland's Claim As Jurisidiction Of Choice For Hedge Fund Services

by Jason Gorringe, Tax-News.com, London

30 January 2006

Ireland's position as a leading jurisdiction for hedge fund services was further strengthened last week with the announcement by Minister for Enterprise, Trade and Employment Micheál Martin that Citco, the global financial services firm and a leading provider of hedge fund services, is to open a second hedge fund administration office in Cork.

In addition, Citco is to expand its existing data processing operation in Cork, with the support of IDA Ireland, the government's investment promotion agency. The two developments will create a total of over 250 new jobs over four years.

“These two developments will further strengthen Citco’s Irish operation and consolidate the success which the company has achieved to date in both Cork and Dublin," observed Minister Martin.

"These developments of the company’s activities in Cork will considerably increase the profile of the South-West Region as a location for financial services activities and will further demonstrate its ability to provide the people and support infrastructure required for the success of such operations. Citco are to be congratulated on their success in Ireland to date and their further commitment to this country with the implementation of these developments," he added.

Citco adds to a growing number of financial services firms and hedge fund administrators which have expanded into the Irish provinces, tapping into a skilled and educated pool of workers which is beginning to dry up in the increasingly congested Dublin International Financial Centre.

In December, AIB/BNY Securities Services (Ireland) Limited, a joint venture between Allied Irish Banks, plc and The Bank of New York and one of Ireland's largest fund administrators with $162 billion worth of funds under administration, announced its decision to create 200 new jobs in Cork.

The company explained that Cork has been selected as a strategic location because of the high quality infrastructure, excellent facilities and the high number of quality graduates produced by universities and colleges in the region.

Also in December, BISYS Hedge Fund Services opened a new office in Waterford in the south east of Ireland, in the process creating about 250 highly-skilled jobs in the city over the next five years.

"We are seeing a growth in this type of investment throughout Ireland," observed Irish Minister for Transport Martin Cullen whilst officially opening the new BISYS office.

"BISYS joins a growing list of international financial services companies in the South East region and their presence will only serve to attract more investment of this calibre to the area," he added.

Ronan Daly, President of BISYS Hedge Fund Services, said that the firm's decision to move beyond Dublin was "strongly influenced" by its experiences to date in Ireland.

“Our Irish team has consistently demonstrated its ability to deliver world class standards of service to our clients. Ireland has been identified as the premier growth centre in the fund industry in Europe with 30% of worldwide hedge funds administered in Ireland," he noted.

Citco currently employs 600 people in Ireland and has been servicing clients for over six years from three separate operations at its offices in Dublin’s International Financial Services Centre (IFSC) and at the Cork Airport Business Park.

The two new developments will be located in a new fully operational office at Tellengana House, Blackrock, Cork, and are being implemented to meet the continued growth in demand for Citco’s fund administration and custody services.

Kieran Conroy, Managing Director of Citco Fund Services (Dublin), commented: “When we commenced operations in 1999, we recognised that Ireland represented a tremendous opportunity to develop our fund administration business, the quality of the workforce is very high and it is well educated and experienced in financial services."

"The decision to locate in Ireland has been fully vindicated and this expansion into a new location for our fund administration business reflects on our continued commitment to Ireland as a strategic location for our business," he added.

Nicolaas Hofman, General Manager of Citco Data processing Services Limited explained that Citco was one of the first companies to venture out of the confines of Dublin to the regions in 2000.

"The decision to choose Cork at that stage has enabled us to achieve our objectives of centralising our back office operations for our brokerage and custody business. Our decision to open in Cork in 2000 created excellent opportunities for graduates and experienced professionals within the industry outside of Dublin," he noted.

Citco Fund Services has been established in hedge fund administration for more than 35 years and now services more than 2,000 funds from 11 centres across the Americas, Europe and Australasia representing net assets exceeding $300 billion. Its core services include accounting and net asset value calculations, investor- related services, as well as corporate and legal services. Citco also provides a straight-through, front-to-back solution for hedge funds.

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