Centaur, a hedge fund servicing firm, was set up in Dublin in 2009 by three former employees of Hemisphere, which was later acquired by BISYS, and subsequently by Citi. It has grown from a team of six to 66 employees, with a presence in Britain and the US, and currently has assets under administration of some $10 billion. Karen Malone is managing director.
Was it difficult starting a financial services business post-financial crash? We saw a gap in the market for the skill that we had, and so decided to go out on our own and compete with the major banks head on. But, yes, from a market point of view and a client of view, it wasn't great, as the world had fallen apart in financial markets. But the dust had already settled by 2009 and we could set up at a time when the cost base was lower.
We left our jobs in May 2009, got approved in October 2009, and went live with our first two clients in January 2010.
How did you fund the business? The business was initially funded personally by the founding partners, all with the same common objective of building and growing a successful and profitable business.
What distinguishes your business from competitors? An outstanding client service. Centaur has a history of providing an ongoing and meaningful commitment to our clients. We have worked hard to build a "client-first" culture through the hard work and dedication of our team. As a result, we have never lost a client to a rival firm.
What has been the biggest challenge you have had to face? Without a doubt the biggest challenge for fund administrators and fund managers is regulation. Demand for regulatory reporting has been strong over the past five years and is set to increase this year. The sheer scale of paperwork is incredibly time-consuming for managers, and we see more and more handing this responsibility to their fund administrators.
What is the biggest mistake you've made in business? Waiting until 2009 to go into business with Eric Bertrand and Ronan Daly! Sometimes I do wonder what it would be like if we'd done it sooner. Honestly, I really don't think of mistakes. In my head I put it all down to experience, and realise that the most successful businesses are constantly learning and adapting.
And your major success to date? One of our proudest successes to date has been our team. In November we moved our 66 Dublin employees to new larger offices to facilitate the tenfold growth in employee numbers since we opened six years ago.
But staffing has also had its challenges. At the start it was a catch-22 situation – you can’t get regulated (by the Central Bank) unless you have people in place. But why would an employee join a firm that’s not regulated? So it was a bizarre period of trying to give the staff the comfort that we would be regulated, and separately trying to give the regulator comfort that we would have the staff. But they did take a chance (the staff) and they’re still all here today.
Is there a challenge in starting a business with former colleagues? We had to find our respective roles. I went from being in charge of a business with 650 people – at Citi Hedge Fund Services(Ireland) – Eric managed a few hundred people, Ronan had a global role. And then suddenly we were all sitting around a table with no clients and very few staff. We had to find where might be best for our skills to lie. But we did and we're all still here, and we're all still talking!
What business advice would you give to would-be entrepreneurs? It takes a lot of passion and vision to be an entrepreneur but there is nothing more invigorating than running your own business. If I was to give one piece of advice it would be to invest wisely in your team. Hire only the best people and you will reap the benefits.
What is the short/medium term plan for your business? We are 100 per cent focused on growing and building the business. Our short-to-medium term goal is to expand our geographical reach. This means primarily focusing on the United States, where we are undergoing an intensive campaign to build our brand, increase awareness and enhance our reputation.
What is your business worth and would you sell it? It's too soon for a valuation and we have no plans to sell at the moment. We enjoy what we do and have no desire to change the format.
Will we look for outside investors? We’re not actively looking, no, but opportunities will come knocking and we’ll consider each on their merits as to what it would bring. From a financial point of view it’s not something we need, so for now we’ve no real desire to change what we’re doing but down the road, who knows?
