The management of Tewksbury Capital Management Ltd. said the company is to set up offices in the United States, but said that they are not moving out of Bermuda and no jobs are expected to be lost.

The industry was awash with rumours yesterday that the company, which earlier this year changed its name from Trout Trading to Tewksbury Capital Management (TCM), was shipping out and that staff would have to move to the United States.

But yesterday Andrew Kane, general counsel at Tewksbury, denied all the rumours and said that the company was simply in the preliminary stages of opening a company in the United States and that he did not anticipate there being any job losses.

"We are in the preliminary process of establishing an entity in the United States, a contracting service provider," said Mr. Kane. "Some people will be leaving over the next few years, but we expect to maintain a significant operation in Bermuda for some time to come and will keep our main operation in Bermuda."

The company, which has about 70 employees, was formerly owned by Munroe Trout, 39, one of the world's most successful hedge fund managers, who retired from the money management business in January. According to Forbes, he left the firm after it posted a 13.6 percent gain in 2001, when most posted losses, because he wanted to spend more time with his family.

He handed over the reins of Trout Trading Management, which had been open for 12 years, to CEO Matthew Tewksbury, who changed the name in after taking over the company.

The company's new web site says TCM is the trading and administrative manager for the Tewksbury Investment Fund, an open-ended Bermuda management fund with assets of over $2.95 billion. Mr. Kane said: "This is an expansion. The long term plan is to establish this US-based service provider and hope to draw in the intellectual capital resource pool in the United States and continue forward with our business plan."

He denied that the company had problems with recruiting and said that different applicants for different positions had different interests. The company currently has 11 separate jobs posted on its website, www.tcm-ltd.com. The opening page of the web site states: "We're looking for some outstanding people to join our team in Bermuda."

The company operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, trading on financial markets world-wide.

Mr. Kane said: "It is not uncommon to have service providers and offices in multiple jurisdictions."

And he added: "I can say that we do not anticipate there will be any loss of jobs [because of the new office."

The company already has an office in Toronto and the new US office is believed to be planned for Philadelphia