Calderwood named best offshore governance firm at US hedge fund industry awards
Governance firm Calderwood has been named ‘Best Offshore Governance Firm’ at the HFM US Services Awards 2022.
Calderwood co-founders, Ronan Guilfoyle and Wade Kenny, accepted the award for the firm, at the event held at Guastavino’s in New York on 13 September, recognising the strength and quality of the firm’s client relationships in the US.
“We greatly appreciate this recognition and would like to thank all of our clients for the opportunity we have to work with them,” said Guilfoyle, who is also the current chairman of the Cayman Islands chapter of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA). “Exceptional client service is paramount to everything we do at Calderwood and it’s extremely satisfying that a number of our clients took the time during this awards process to commend the work we do together.”
Calderwood has significantly expanded in recent years, notably with the 2021 appointments of US investment funds attorney Laura McGrath and expert Cayman Islands regulatory attorney Anna Goubault as independent directors.
Since launching in 2016 with two co-founders, Calderwood now has eight fund directors, with more than 300 fund manager relationships. The firm also offers a range of specialist regulatory and compliance services and has an office in the Asia Pacific region, to provide time sensitive services in that time zone.
MUFG Investor Services celebrates 50 Years in the Cayman Islands
Asset servicing provider MUFG Investor Services celebrates its 50th anniversary of operating in the Cayman Islands this month. MUFG Investor Services in the Cayman Islands was first incorporated as Swiss Bank and Trust Corporation Limited in September 1972.
“We’re proud to celebrate the achievements and substantial growth of MUFG Investor Services in the Cayman Islands over the past 50 years. This important milestone reflects our continued investment in and commitment to our clients, our employees, and the region,” said John Sergides, chief executive officer of MUFG Investor Services.
“From day one, our strategy has been to operate from locations where we can best serve our international client base, comprised of some of the largest fund managers in the world. Today, our global footprint includes the Cayman Islands as home to one of our largest offices.”
MUFG Investor Services in the Cayman Islands has grown to over 160 employees and received the 2020 Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (CIMA) Premier Partner Award for its excellence in supporting lifelong professional development.
Grant Thornton adds audit directors to asset management team
Grant Thornton has appointed three audit directors to its asset management team.
Joining the firm in 2019, Claire O’Dea was recently promoted to audit director after she obtained the practitioner license from the Cayman Islands Institute of Professionals Accountants (CIIPA).
The accounting firm said O’Dea has become an integral member of the asset management team and leads in the delivery of client audits. She recently received the Rising Star Award at the CIIPA Awards Gala and is a project lead for the Grant Thornton Graduate Programme.
Stephen Anderson joins the organisation as audit director. He is responsible for the delivery of audit and other assurance services to clients in the financial services sector as part of the asset management team. He has spent the majority of his career working at a Big-4 firm, with experience in a number of jurisdictions, including New York and Dublin.
Mohammad Hayat also joins the firm as audit director on the asset management team, responsible for the delivery of audit and other assurance services. He is a Fellow Chartered Certified Accountant (FCCA) and an Associate Chartered Accountant (Pakistan). Hayat has also spent most of his career working at a Big-4 firm, with experience in private equity, real estate, hedge and mutual funds, and asset managers. He has worked in several jurisdictions, including the United States and Middle East.
Collas Crill expands its property practice
Collas Crill has expanded its property practice in Cayman with the appointment of Alistair Wade as senior associate.
With more than 10 years’ working in the real estate sector, Alistair has experience in providing both commercial and residential advice across a wide range of matters including acquisitions and disposals, insolvency, development funding and lettings.
Originally based in the UK, Alistair worked at DWF and then Shoosmiths acting for a wide range of clients, including a large number of Yorkshire-based private rental sector schemes.
Before training to become a solicitor, Alistair ran his own business providing architectural visualisations for construction companies, while teaching 3D animation at Lincoln University.
Wade obtained his GDL and LPC from BPP Law School, Leeds, in 2010, before qualifying as a solicitor in June 2016 after a number of years working as a paralegal.
He was admitted as a Cayman attorney-at-law earlier this month.
Harneys welcomes two new articled clerks
Ceretta Harvey and Kayla Prendergast have joined Harneys’ articled clerk training programme.
Growing up in West Bay, Harvey has worked in both the private and public sectors before joining Harneys. She said in her various roles, she developed a deep appreciation and respect for the role that the law plays in everyday society pushing her to pursue a legal career herself.
“I truly feel privileged to have been offered Articles here at Harneys,” Harvey said. “Having commenced my first seat, I realize it won’t be easy, but I am confident that I am surrounded and supported by some of the industry’s finest who will ensure that I am adequately equipped and prepared to successfully complete this necessary step to becoming a practising Cayman attorney.”
Kayla Prendergast, in turn, said she always had an interest in business, having participated in the 2015 Cayman Finance Programme, where she received mentorship from a lawyer who encouraged her to pursue a legal career in order to refine her drafting and debating skills.
She was awarded the Harneys 2021 legal scholarship, which she used to complete her Legal Practice Course at the University of Law in Manchester. “After receiving the scholarship from Harneys, I was very grateful to be offered Articles of Clerkship,” Pendergast said. “As I start the next step of my journey to becoming a qualified lawyer, I am happy to be joining a firm where everyone is very helpful and invested in my career progression.”
Charles Moore, partner and director of the articled clerk training programme at Harneys said the firm continues to expand and improve its training and development programmes to provide Caymanians the opportunity to develop their skills in the industry.
“Kayla and Ceretta join the programme as they both demonstrate the core values that are required to excel in the legal profession,” he added.
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