The Investment Trust of India (ITI) has selected Apex Group to provide fund administration services to the ITI Long Short Equity Offshore Fund in India’s Gujarat International Finance Tec-City International Financial Centre (GIFT City).
The fund, launched this year, is ITI’s first offshore fund, established as ITI aims to expand its footprint in the offshore market. The company holds more than US $650 million in assets under management through its mutual fund and alternative investment fund business in India.
Through the mandate, ITI will have access to Apex’s PAXUS software platform, enabling increased operational and cost efficiency, reduced error risk, faster valuation and the ability to support complex funds.
Apex has also announced the opening of an office in Montreal, Quebec. The outpost will provide locally delivered services and French-language support to clients in the region, and will be led by Raja Krishnan, country head for Canada.
The new office continues Apex’s expansion in Canada, and is a result of increased demand from new and existing clients in the area.
Commenting on the opening, Krishnan says: “Montreal continues to be home to the largest institutional asset managers in Canada, creating a growing demand for French-language service capabilities for both our clients and their investors. We are excited to announce the growth of our Canadian footprint as we extend our global service model so that our experienced local teams can continue to deliver exceptional on-the-ground service for our clients.”
On the ITI appointment, Akshay Thakuresai, country head for India, says: “[This] announcement further demonstrates the growth opportunity GIFT City provides for India – both for domestic investors looking to launch offshore structures, as well as by connecting India to other international financial hubs. ”
Ajay Vaswani, president and chief business officer for alternative investment funds at ITI, adds: “With India continuing to emerge as a key player in the global economy, ITI aims to capitalise on the country's growth potential by employing a dynamic investment strategy. This investment approach will enable the fund to generate risk adjusted returns, by protecting the downside during market falls and capturing the equity upside.”
