Walkers Funds Services names senior vice-president as client base soars

Date: Wednesday, February 6, 2008
Author: Hedgeweek.com

Cayman Islands-based Walkers Funds Services, which provides specialist offshore services for investment fund structures, has announced the appointment of Andrew Edgington to its management team as senior vice-president.

Walkers Fund Services, which has expanded its client base by 35 per cent in the past 12 months and doubled its staff in the past year, has also appointed Alison Martinson and Abali Hoilett as vice-presidents and Isatou Sey and Yeaneka Gordon as assistant vice-presidents.

The Walkers group, which includes the offshore law firm of the same name, offers legal and management services to corporations, financial institutions, capital markets participants and fund managers from offices in Cayman Islands, the British Virgin Islands, Dubai, Hong Kong, Jersey, London and Tokyo, and also includes special-purpose vehicle and corporate services providers Walkers SPV, Walkers (Jersey), and Walkers (BVI).

'Investors are demanding stricter standards for funds, including improved valuation practices and more thorough and complete due diligence,' says Nancy Lewis, chief executive of Walkers Global Holdings, which oversees Walkers Fund Services. 'These demands make the need for strong fund service providers who can offer professional independent directors and trustees all the more important.

'Our new appointments further enhance the premier service that Walkers Fund Services provides to meet the needs of both onshore and offshore investment managers. Andrew's extensive institutional investment experience is an excellent compliment to our existing team and increases our global perspective and understanding of our clients' requirements both during establishment of offshore investment vehicles and in their operation.'

Edgington was previously a director and head of product development at Baring Asset Management in London, where he headed global product development including the creation of Barings' hedge fund platform.

Following experience at Northern Trust Global Investments, Gartmore and Invesco, he brings to Walkers more than 20 years of experience of the global fund market including product development and fund operation and implementation and directorships for hedge funds and other fund structures.

'At Walkers Fund Services, I have the opportunity to combine my marketing and business development background in conjunction with a strong hedge fund expertise in the world's most active hedge fund jurisdiction,' Edgington says.

'I look forward to helping Walkers Fund Services continue to develop and expand its services, both in terms of adding more institutional clients and offering more solutions to those clients.'

Hoilett was previously with RBC Dominion Securities (Global) where he established and maintained client relationships with US and Canadian exchange-listed entities and their Caribbean subsidiaries along with mutual and hedge fund complexes.

Martinson joined Walkers from Credit Suisse Investment Services (Cayman) where she was a member of the fund administration team and acted as compliance officer. She was previously an audit senior at Deloitte in Johannesburg and in San José, California.

Gordon was most recently an assistant accountant in KMPG's Cayman Islands hedge fund group and also has experience with the Auditor General's Office in Grand Cayman, Barclays Bank and the Cayman office of accounting firm Rothstein Kass. Sey was previously a senior investments and securities analyst for the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority, the territory's financial regulator.