Bridgewater Associates plans to outsource the back-office processes of its hedge fund complex and has identified BNY Mellon as the potential winner of the business.
In an Oct. 3 letter to the Connecticut Department of Labor from Michelle Kemling, a Bridgewater senior associate, employee relations, Bridgewater indicated that “although the final agreements have not yet been signed, the business decision has been made to permanently outsource certain back-office service operations” to BNY Mellon. The letter was obtained by P&I Daily.
The expectation is that BNY Mellon will assume management of Bridgewater’s back-office activities on Dec. 2, Ms. Kemling wrote.
Eileen Murray, Bridgewater’s co-CEO, confirmed in an interview that the company intends to outsource its back-office operations, but declined to say on which companies Bridgewater is conducting due diligence.
Ms. Murray said the move is being made to “provide operationally excellent back-office services to clients,” and “to access the scale and breadth” of technology services that outsourcing specialists can offer Bridgewater clients.
As part of the deal, Ms. Murray said Bridgewater’s entire back-office operations will move to the outsourcer, including an office in Westport, Conn. She said the 91 Bridgewater employees who now work in the back-office unit all have accepted offers to become employees of the outsourcer.
Michael Dunn, a BNY Mellon spokesman, declined to comment.
Bridgewater Associates is the world’s largest hedge fund manager, with $58.9 billion in assets under management as of June 30, according to a recent ranking by Pensions & Investments.
