16 - 22 December 1999

Valletta Fund Management tapping the international market

The strategic alliance between Bank of Valletta and Rothschild Asset Management in 1995 created the first company in Malta to manage funds. Four years following the launch of Valletta Fund Management Franco Aloisio interviewed the company's newly appointed general manager, CHARLES BORG and director ROBIN FULLER who is managing director of

Rothschild Asset Management

How has the alliance between Bank of Valletta and the Rothschild Group developed over the last years?

We are extremely satisfied with the collaboration with Rothschild Group, as this is one of the world's leading independent merchant banking and asset management organisations with over US$35bn under management.

The 1994 financial services legislation made it possible for us to enter the fund management business. Rothschild Asset Management was then looking for strategic partners within the region to start their business in Malta and after meeting with a number of institutions locally, they decided to enter into a strategic venture with Bank of Valletta. The intentions initially were to explore the possibility of the Maltese financial services market and eventually move into international markets. The local sector has been extremely successful and we have made the best use of the local market.

What are your future plans?

The first plans are to consolidate the local market. Moreover, during the coming year there will be a lot of emphasis on the international aspect, and the internationalisation of Malta as a financial centre.

We are going to concentrate on getting third party fund administration from abroad and doing it locally. We have already started doing this with one SICAV for a Turkish company. At present, we are exploring the possibility of managing other foreign funds.

Mr Fuller, what is your evaluation of Valletta Fund Management?

VFM is a very successful company and is growing very fast. As a director of the Rothschild group, I can say that we are pleased to have started business in Malta, especially in terms of the human resources found in Malta.

Fund management is very much a skills-based section of the economy which requires qualified personnel. In Malta one finds the right type of educated workforce in this financial sector.

Do you see Malta developing in an area whereby financial services could be developed further?

There are a lot of jurisdictions in the world which are in a vantage position to become financial services centres. Malta has certain advantages over other countries which are vying the possibility of becoming a financial services centre. For instance Malta can become a hub in an area of the world which has not yet developed in terms of financial services, that is, the south of Europe.

One finds several centres in northern or central Europe, such as Ireland, Jersey and Channel Islands and Luxembourg. However there is still no strong financial services centre in the south of Europe and Malta can exploit the possibility of becoming a hub in this respect.

We are very satisfied with the domestic demand for funds. The next step is to develop the management of foreign funds. Moreover VFM should upgrade its already comprehensive portfolio of services to suit the demands of our clients.