Yes, some are banks, but they are banks with large mutual fund (or unit trust) operations.

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Take TotalFina, one of his largest positions in both the hedge fund and the unit trust.

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One way of looking at these is as if they are a unit trust (in English) or a mutual fund (in American).

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The first big fund to outsource was PIMCO back around 2000, said Pete Cherecwich, head of global fund services business unit at Northern Trust.

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Consider the Odey Continental European Trust, a British unit trust run by Hugh Hendry, who is also a hedge-fund manager.

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But according to the Investment Management Association, the British fund-management industry's trade body, an equity unit trust has to have 80% in equities.

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