The Bank of Bermuda is considering whether to shift management of its equity funds over to J.P. Morgan Investment Management.

Earlier this year the bank appointed the firm to manage its four bond funds, in the process making three investment staff redundant.

Wayne Chapman, the bank's senior vice president of investment services said no decision has been made yet but the bank is in the process of launching an umbrella fixed income and equity fund with nine sub-classes.

The multi-manager fund will have sub-classes of global bonds, short duration bonds, emerging market debt, US large cap equities, US small cap equities, UK equities, European equities, Japanese equities and Asian equities.

J.P. Morgan will provide investment advisory services for the umbrella fund.

The bank will then make the decision on whether or not to merge its current equity funds into the various sub funds being created.

The bank currently employs three staff to manage its equity funds. J.P. Morgan provides the investment management of the bond funds, while the bank remains the custodian of the funds and markets them to investors.

The bank has slowly been downsizing its fund management group since 1995, when it employed 12 staff to run various funds. The Bermuda Bond Fund, with four sub-classes, was established in 1980 and has assets of $375 million under management. The fund has four sub-classes of funds.

Managing investments: Bank of Bermuda senior vice president of investment services Wayne Chapman (left) with J.P. Morgan Investment manager David Gibbon, and head of the sub-advisory group David Fermo.