The Argus Group has cuts its ties with external investment advisor Kast Investment Management Ltd. in a move to take its asset administration and investment management services in-house.

These services will now fall under the recently incorporated subsidiary Argus Financial Limited, a joint venture with Barbados-based Cidel Bank & Trust Inc.

Argus using Kast Investment Management as its external investment advisor on its pension portfolio at the beginning of this month.

While president Gerald Simons did not wish to comment on the number of investments Kast was overseeing newspaper records show that Kast had been advising the investments for nine of Argus? pension portfolios as recently as January 2004.

As of March 31, 2005, Argus had $277.9 million of life and pension assets under management.

The change in the asset administration and investment management services section of the company is part of an overall restructuring of the Argus Group.

The board of directors has also approved the incorporation of Argus Group Holdings Limited which is to become the parent of all the companies in the Group.

As previously reported, Argus recently expanded its property and casualty portfolios with the acquisitions of Bermuda-based Aviva Plc. and the acquisition of the Gibraltar property and casualty company, Norwich Union International Insurance.

Plans to construct a new headquarters at the car park and warehouse site adjacent to the current building which Argus has outgrown are also moving ahead.

The company added 24 new employees to its local family during the year bringing its total number including 19 employees in Gibraltar to 154. Construction on the headquarters is expected to commence in early 2006 with completion anticipated in late 2007.