Mark Jennings has joined Bermudian-based Apex Group, which has grown from a local start-up to one of the largest private equity fund administrators in the world.

The new director, senior vice-president, global capital markets and strategic partnerships has had a long association with Apex founder and chief executive Peter Hughes through their years in Bermuda.

Mr Jennings has spent his career helping alternative investment managers, private equity firms, venture capital firms, private credit managers and real estate sponsors to raise capital and expand their investor base globally. Along the way, he built deep relationships across Bermuda's investment, insurance and family office communities.

In a video interview with The Royal Gazette, he said about his appointment: “I think sitting here at the broker dealer, helping raise money for alternative funds, helping raise money for direct and secondary co-investment opportunities is what I had helped do in Bermuda at LOM and then at Morgan Stanley and Wilmington Capital.

“I'm looking forward to taking those relationships and experiences that I built in Bermuda and here in the US and helping expand them globally through Apex.

“It is a huge company, but you know, we're a small department within the firm that's helping cross these opportunities.”

Throughout his career, he has maintained ties with Mr Hughes, who has been a trusted contact, connector and occasional business partner.

Mr Jennings was involved in projects and financing discussions related to Apex's growth over the years, while Mr Hughes introduced him to key relationships across Asia and Latin America that helped to shape several stages of his career.

Most recently, Mr Jennings worked in private markets and fintech, including at Bite Investments, where Apex became both a strategic investor and partner.

His appointment marks another chapter in a professional relationship that has evolved alongside their careers.

Apex said that more broadly the hire reflects the group's continued focus on capital formation, private markets and strategic partnerships, while highlighting the important role Bermuda's financial services community continues to play in connecting talent, capital and global business opportunities.

Mr Jennings said the company, which has just acquired broker-dealer Global Cap, was massive compared with when he first met Mr Hughes in Bermuda: “I've been trying to get Peter to hire me for 15 years.

“He always used to joke that he couldn’t afford me, but I told him that joke doesn’t make sense any more. It feels great to be at the ‘mothership’ and helping him scale this business.”

The Apex Group has a workforce today of about 13,000 employees after more than 60 corporate acquisitions since its core operating entity, Apex Fund Services Ltd, was incorporated as a Bermuda exempted company in 2003.

It is a far cry from an idea that Mr Hughes had to provide services for largely ignored small-to-medium-sized asset managers that were looking for independent fund administration services.

With the accelerated growth of the company, Mr Hughes expanded his vision from delivering local, personalised service on a global scale to also building the one-stop shop — providing the many services that clients traditionally had to find from several separate vendors.

The “single-source solution” funds services including standard and complex fund administration, transfer agency and investor onboarding.

It includes financial solutions such as digital banking, corporate depositary, custody and super management company services.

It also includes corporate and business solutions such as corporate management, capital markets support, human resources, payroll, advisory services and pioneering environmental, social and governance ratings.