when it comes to the management of their pension fund contributions.

From their office overlooking Mullet Bay in St. George's, the four portfolio managers of Shell Trust (Bermuda) Ltd. oversee a portion -- about $1.75 billion -- of Shell employee pension funds.

Shell Trust (Bermuda) Ltd. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of The Shell Petroleum Company Ltd., the UK parent of The Royal Dutch/Shell Group.

The group of four -- Mr. Monty Nearon, responsible for global bonds and foreign exchange, Mr. Simon Brown, handling UK and Far East equities, Ms Karen Cresswell, responsible for European equities and investment manager Mr.

Bernard Ratteray, who heads the investment team -- work out of Shell House.

The biggest pension fund the group manages is the Shell Overseas Contributory Fund. UK nationals working outside that jurisdiction make pension contributions to this fund.

The company also overseas the Shell International Pension Fund, their second largest fund under management. Shell employees from non-UK jurisdictions like Canada pay pension contributions to the Shell International Pension Fund when they work abroad.

Shell Trust also manages the Shell Bermuda Provident Fund -- a local pension fund for Shell Company of Bermuda Ltd. employees -- as well as a few smaller Caribbean funds for Shell employees.

The "expatriated'' workers of Shell, those who leave their Shell home to live and work in places like the Middle East, are under a different set of circumstances so their pension management falls under a different fund, according to Mr. Nearon, a Bermudian.

"My responsibility is bonds. There is an opportunity to learn about the equity markets as well. Every major economic or political event affects the market. Every day is different,'' he said. Mr. Nearon's focus is on double and triple A rated bonds.

Though the pension funds are primarily equity-geared there is a good portion focused on bond assets. The large fund has about 80 percent of its assets in global equity markets and about 12 percent in global bonds the balance is in property and cash. The property portfolio is UK-focused. About half the equity exposure is in the UK and the bulk of the bond positions are in the UK, according to Mr. Nearon.

"Outside the UK, class equities and bonds portfolio managers face foreign exchange exposure. It is safer to stay in your own currency though higher risk can mean a higher return,'' he added.

The asset structure is set up similar to UK domestic pension fund because the beneficiaries are UK nationals.

Last year was something of a bad bond market baptism for Mr. Nearon.

After six years in the investment world he saw his first bear bond market.

Last year the US bond market collapsed and took the world bond market with it.

"Last year was tough for most bond investors,'' he said. "Fortunately this year is starting to show a better return.'' When interest rates rise, bond prices tend to drop and when interest rates fall bond prices tend to rise. There are signals in the US that that economy is slowing which should mean an end to interest rate hikes, he explained. When Mr. Nearon joined Shell Trust six years ago he brought work experience at the Bank of Bermuda and Bermuda Commercial Bank with him. Prior to joining Shell Trust he also worked for a year in the UK with a Barclays Bank subsidiary.

"With Shell I was able to incorporate the treasury experience with the bond education I had received prior to joining the company,'' he said.

Mr. Nearon declined to reveal percentage returns on the pension funds under management but noted the funds have done well over the past five years compared to other UK pension schemes.

"We can compare our performance to UK pension funds and we have been in the second quartile over the past five years,'' he noted. The second quartile includes those funds in the second highest of four groups.

"Each fund manager can compare their results with other fund managers,'' he said. "In 1993 I was in the upper quartile but last year was not my best year.

"Last year's experience will help eliminate the downside of a bear market when the next one hits. Seasoned professionals were caught off guard last year.'' Of the billions in Shell's world-wide pension funds, Bermuda assets under management ranks fourth behind the UK, the Hague, and the US, he said.

He joined Shell as an assistant fund manager and after two years he was promoted to portfolio manager.

Mr. Nearon has a degree in Finance from Hampton University in Virginia. He is married and has three children.

One of Bermuda's best-known junior tennis players, Mr. Nearon admits he has less time for the sport now.

Among the high points of his tennis career was playing doubles at the Central American Caribbean Games, while the high point was playing Andre Agassi, then about 17, at the National Tennis Stadium. Mr. Nearon recalled the score was a respectable 7-6 6-1 for Agassi, now the world's number one player.

INVESTMENT MANAGER Mr. Monty Nearon