CAYMAN special report <strong>2007</strong>asia-pacific DIRECTORSHIP/MANAGEMENTspecial reportPrice Waterhouse, Scotia Bank, Deutsche Bank,DPM Mellon, KPMG and Royal Bank of Canada.Directors provided by IMS are also kept up to datewith matters affecting their work by attendance atindustry specific conferences and seminars.Although IMS has held a fund administrator’slicence for many years, it does not form oradminister funds other than its own in-housefund, preferring to avoid conflicts with clientsfor whom it provides director services, but it canprovide a complete turnkey service if required byindependently working as a hub with third party lawfirms, accounting firms, fund administrators andcustodians.IMS also holds a full trust licence issued by the<strong>Cayman</strong> Islands government in order to be able toprovide trustee services for purpose trusts whichare sometimes used to own the management sharesof certain funds or to take ownership of a variety ofspecial purpose vehicles.The fund administrator’s licence issued to IMSby the <strong>Cayman</strong> Islands government specificallyauthorises it to provide directors or ‘operators’ to<strong>Cayman</strong> registered funds.Under the licence, IMS maintains a minimumnet worth of half a million US dollars and its ownfinancial statements are audited by governmentapprovedauditors and submitted to the MonetaryAuthority annually. The Monetary Authority’sfund administrators’ inspection team also inspectsits operations periodically, which is somethingworth bearing in mind when choosing someone tolook after your affairs. There are not many firmsin the <strong>Cayman</strong> Islands who provide director servicesthat have been around very long and are sorigorously regulated or have the organisationalability to provide the required back up to thedirectors when needed.Meeting challenges head onOne of the greatest challenges that faced IMSoccurred in September 2004 when Hurricane Ivandecimated the islands to an extent unprecedentedin recorded history with 200-mile-per hour windsand island-wide flooding from the storm surgecausing loss of all power, communications andutilities. IMS met this challenge head on. With halfof its senior staff off island and half of them on theisland, client’s affairs continued to be adequatelyattended to throughout the emergency period bythe use of portable data backup, mobile communicationsequipment and, by no means least, thedetermination of its staff and management thatthey would continue to provide a first class serviceto its fund clients and that the reputation of IMSwould remain unblemished no matter what theconditions. Drawing on this experience, IMS hasfurther strengthened its disaster recovery ability byarranging for secure emergency alternative operations,if needed, both on and off the island and hasstreamlined the accessibility of secure electronicdata and arranged for its own in-house satellitecommunications system in the event of failure ofthe islands’ telephone facilities.Such a solid history and range of experiencemeans that IMS can provide innovative butreliable services. Having specialised in providingdirectors to hedge funds for many years, IMSknows just what its clients are looking for in aprofessional hedge fund director. Speed, accessibility,initiative and efficiency come immediately tomind – and so does cost effectiveness. IMS is awareof these requirements and anticipates them.For example, a client’s call or enquiry will alwaysreceive immediate attention even if the fund directorhimself is temporarily unavailable to take thecall. IMS staff has been dealing with regulatorymatters applicable to funds for many years andtakes the initiative and the responsibility for seeingthat all required returns, accounts, governmentfees are up to date.Naturally, having been around for such a longtime, the names of IMS clients and business introducersinevitably read like a ‘who’s who’ of the bestnames in the world’s hedge fund industry. Nevertheless,IMS is still willing to listen to small butpromising start ups with good credentials, becauseIMS knows, from its own history and that of the<strong>Cayman</strong> Islands, that “from little acorns mightyoak trees grow.”12 | HFMWEEK www.hfmweek.com
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