Bermuda-based Centre Reinsurance Companies and Chase Manhattan Bank have formed a new joint venture to provide investment management services to insurance companies.

The new company, Centre Chase Investment Advisors L.P., will be based in New York. The two participating companies have an equal partnership.

Centre Chase will be the marketing company for the investment management business done by Chase. Centre Re will do likewise for the insurance industry.

Centre Re's investment management business, Centre Investment Services, will manage the fixed income portfolios of Centre Chase's clients, while Chase will manage the equity and international investments, while providing related banking services.

Centre Chase will also provide asset/liability management and strategic investment advisory services, as well as accounting capabilities.

Managing director and global insurance executive for Chase Manhattan Bank, Mr.

David Nelson said, "As the dominant provider of corporate finance and service products business to the insurance industry, Chase is excited to be expanding our investment management services to the industry by our venture with Centre Re.'' Mr. Laurence W. Cheng, president of Bermuda-based Centre Investment Services and executive vice president and CFO for the Centre Re companies said: "Since 1988, Centre Re has offered products that are tailor-made for specialised insurance company needs. Now, Centre Re companies has, through the joint venture with Chase Manhattan, a logical expansion of their insurance and their financial services to their clients.'' Mr. Martin Klein has been appointed managing principal of Centre Chase. He has had extensive experience in the financial and asset/liability management of insurance companies. Mr. Klein was most recently executive vice president and chief financial officer of ARM Financial Group and before that was with Providian Corporation.

"Centre Chase combines Chase's broad-based expertise with CIS's customised investment approach, together with actuarial and accounting resources to create an organisation which is ideally equipped to meet the unique asset management needs of insurance companies,'' said Mr. Klein.

The Chase Manhattan Bank is the principal subsidiary of the Chase Manhattan Bank Corporation, a global financial services company with assets of more than $117 billion.

Although based in Bermuda, Centre Re has subsidiaries in New York, London and Dublin. It is a full service provider of customised reinsurance and insurance finite risk products.

Centre Investment Services is a wholly-owned investment management company with approximately $4 billion in insurance company assets under management.

Centre Re is a member of the Zurich Insurance Group, a recognised leader in insurance and risk management products with $61 billion in assets at year-end 1993, and operations in more than 40 countries.