Custom House Global Fund Services, a provider of financial services to the alternative investment sector, has opened its doors in San Francisco, CA, as part of its plan to expand in the US.

Custom House Global Fund Services, a provider of financial services to the alternative investment sector, has opened its doors in San Francisco, CA, as part of its plan to expand in the US.

Gary Smith has joined Custom House as a commercial director and is responsible for pressing ahead with the firm’s West Coast growth ambitions and ongoing business development. He will report to Scott Price, head of sales for the Americas, who is based in the firm’s US headquarters in Chicago, IL.

“Our expansion to the West Coast is part of Custom House’s strategic plan for the US, which we continue to view as an important region and engine of growth for the alternative asset sector,” said Mark Hedderman, chief executive of Custom House.

Hedderman said the firm opened a New York office last October and has eight global locations - including Chicago, New York, Dublin, Malta, Luxembourg and Singapore - with over $40 billion of assets under administration and 200 staff.

Smith has over 20 years of experience as a financial services professional across venture capital, private equity and hedge funds as well as corporate finance, capital introductions and financing, and sales and marketing initiatives. His experience on the West Coast includes investment banking, private placements and sales positions with Pacific Growth Equities, Hambrecht & Quist/JP Morgan H&Q, and NationsBanc Montgomery Securities/Banc America Securities.

Custom House also said it recently launched Gateway, a web-based reporting platform that connects fund servicing with solutions across the middle- and back-office, designed specifically for US alternative investment managers.