New Praxis recruit will head latest fund business

THE Praxis Group has launched a new fund administration business. The group already has the franchise for PKF Guernsey and has 65 staff and administers more than $2bn in assets through its fiduciary activities.

It has recruited Chris Gambrell to head the new venture, Praxis Fund Services Ltd, which, it said, showed confidence in the market for fund-administration services.

'The Praxis Group impressed me with its approach to business,' said Mr Gambrell, who has more than 13 years' experience in the sector.

'Rather than sourcing clients and then building the infrastructure, it took a more textbook approach and has implemented an integrated fund accounting and share registration system, together with creating staff capacity, prior to launching the new business.'

The Acufund system has been thoroughly tested on some non-Guernsey hedge funds which Praxis already administers through another group company.

It allows for hundreds of transactions to be uploaded automatically and has an automated valuation process.

Figures released by the Guernsey Financial Services Commission revealed that funds under management and administration in the island had grown to '56.5bn, with no sign of the increase slowing.

Mr Gambrell said PFSL would target alternative-asset funds, including hedge funds, funds of hedge funds, property and private equity.

'I am looking forward to meeting investment professionals in these asset classes as well as attending several conferences, the first of which was the GAIM Lausanne Hedge Fund conference at which PFSL was an exhibitor,' he said.

Mr Gambrell added that the advantage for the company of being locally owned, with all the group's shareholders ' who are also executive directors ' working in the same office, was the ability to take a long term view in developing the business.