Butterfield Funds have received the following 2002 awards from Standard & Poor's for their performance:
· Group of Butterfield Funds: Second Place in the World for the Five Year Performance of the entire family of Butterfield Funds across all sectors (Offshore Funds - Smaller Groups Category, for companies with four to 14 funds in four or more sectors)
· Butterfield Capital Appreciation Bond Fund: First Place in the World for Five Year Performance (Fixed Income, Global Sector - out of 43 funds)
· Butterfield Capital Appreciation Bond Fund: First Place in the World for One Year Performance (Fixed Income, Global Sector - out of 61 funds)
· Butterfield International Balanced Fund - USD: First Place in the World for Five Year Performance (Asset Allocation, Global Neutral Sector - out of 36 funds)
"We are very pleased to be recognised again with these prestigious awards. This is very much a team effort and involves participation from our Cayman, Guernsey and Bermuda investment managers," said Ian Coulman, Vice President and Managing Director, Butterfield Asset Management. "This year's awards are particularly impressive since they demonstrate that our investment strategy has out-performed consistently over a long-term, five-year period across all sectors. This is the result of the ongoing application of a sound investment philosophy on a consistent basis, as has been demonstrated by our award winning history," he said.
"The awards also reflect favourably on Bermuda by demonstrating to the world that we have a pool of investment talent here that is capable of out-performing many of the larger, well known international firms," said Dianne Brewer, Vice President and Head of Business Development, Butterfield Asset Management. "To win awards five years in a row is really exciting for us," she added.
The awards are judged according to S&P's 'Relative Risk-Adjusted' calculation. "Funds that steadily pull ahead of their benchmark should be rewarded over funds that are more erratic against their benchmark, even if both rose by similar percentages," according to S&P.
Butterfield Asset Management Limited (BAM) currently has 5.5 billion dollars under management. Drawing upon the resources of the entire Butterfield Group (with offices and subsidiaries in Barbados, Cayman, Guernsey, Hong Kong and the UK), the Bermuda operation is able to take advantage of an international perspective.
BAM offers a range of eight in-house managed mutual funds. Funds in the fixed income category are rated by Standard & Poor's as follows:
· Butterfield Money Market Fund: credit quality - AAAm
· Butterfield Liquid Reserve Fund: credit quality - AAf; volatility - S1
· US Dollar Bond Fund: credit quality - AA-f; volatility S2
· Capital Appreciation Bond Fund: credit quality - Af; volatility S3
In addition, BAM offers an International Balanced Fund (USD and GBP classes), a Bermuda Fund and a Fund of Funds, Butterfield Select, with three asset classes. Most Butterfield Funds are listed on the Bermuda Stock Exchange and/or the Cayman Islands Stock Exchange. BAM is licensed to conduct investment business by the Bermuda Monetary Authority. Further details are available at the BAM web site: www.bam.bm.
Note to Editors:
Bank of Butterfield Group is a vital community bank in both Bermuda and Cayman and a specialist offshore financial services company. Established in 1858, the Bank offers a full range of banking, credit, investment, treasury, trust and custody services through its headquarters in Bermuda and in Barbados, Cayman, Guernsey, Hong Kong and the United Kingdom.
Bank of Butterfield is a publicly traded corporation with its shares listed on the Bermuda and Cayman Islands stock exchanges. The Bank's share price is published daily in The Royal Gazette and is also available on Bloomberg Financial Markets (symbol: NTB.BH) and The Bermuda Stock Exchange web site: www.bsx.com. Further details on the Bank can be obtained from its web site at: www.bankofbutterfield.com.