BNY Brokerage Creates Hedge Fund Unit

BNY Brokerage, a subsidiary of The Bank of New York, has created a new unit to provide hedge funds with electronic trading tools, transparent commission management services and independent research.

The new unit will handle sales, marketing and trading and will be led by Mark Perdigao, formerly of the firm's institutional sales group. The unit has not yet been named.

"This new unit will help us concentrate more resources on meeting the specialized needs of this rapidly growing market segment and accelerate our growth in this area," said Carey Pack, president of BNY Brokerage.

The unit was created to help BNY Brokerage better match the needs of its hedge fund clients, Pack said. The services provided by the new unit are available to all bank clients, but the company believes hedge funds in particular will be better served by a dedicated team that can tailor and customize the bank's services to meet the firm's needs.

BNY Brokerage increased its business from hedge funds 30 percent last year and expects to double it this year, the firm said.

The creation of the new unit is the latest move by the bank to enhance its offerings to hedge funds. The bank recently created a data warehouse which gives funds of hedge funds real-time information. The broker also offers hedge fund administration services, including portfolio support, fund accounting and administration support, tax, investor services, compliance, and support for creating funds.

Last month, BNY Securities, all part of The Bank of New York, formed a new unit to accelerate the development of trading tools and technology for institutional clients of BNY Brokerage and Pershing, the group's clearing arm.

Earlier this month, The Bank of New York said it was looking to automate its equity and credit derivatives programs for its hedge fund and fund of hedge fund clients.