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Launching a hedge fund
We run the launch alongside the portfolio managers and counsel, from structure and registration through providers, operations, compliance and capital introduction, against a dated plan that everyone works from.
Where we start
The first weeks go to the decisions everything else depends on: strategy and terms, the expected investor mix, launch size and asset path, and which functions the firm will run itself. We turn those into a budget, a provider shortlist and a launch plan with dates, owners and the dependencies between them.
Structure and registration
Counsel leads the legal work. We run the workstream around it, so the documents, the registrations and the operation all describe the same fund.
- Management company, general partner and fund vehicles, onshore, offshore or master-feeder
- Adviser registration or exempt reporting adviser status, and any state requirements
- Investment Company Act exclusion, Regulation D offering, Form D and state notice filings
- CFTC and NFA registration or exemption where the fund trades futures or swaps
- Cayman registration and AML appointments for an offshore vehicle
- Operating and liquidity terms in the documents checked against how the fund will actually run
Providers
For each category we put more than one firm in front of you, compare them on the terms that matter for your strategy and size, and manage onboarding once you choose.
| Provider | What we do |
|---|---|
| Prime broker | Run the search, compare financing, margin, securities lending, service and capital introduction access, and manage onboarding. Mini-prime and introducing arrangements for smaller launches, and a second prime when the time comes. |
| Executing brokers | Set up give-up agreements, connectivity and commission arrangements with the brokers the strategy needs. |
| Fund administrator | Compare service models and pricing, define the NAV, reconciliation and investor reporting process, and run the onboarding. |
| Auditor | Introductions to audit firms with experience in the strategy, and preparation for the first audit. |
| Counsel | Introductions to onshore and offshore fund counsel, and coordination of their work with the rest of the launch. |
| Technology | Order, portfolio and accounting systems, archiving and security sized to the strategy, selected and connected before launch. |
| Banking and insurance | Operating accounts and the directors and officers and errors and omissions coverage allocators will ask about. |
Operations
We build an operation sized to the fund at launch, with room to grow, and run it through a full dry run before real money moves.
- Order capture, allocation and give-up flow across every broker and the prime
- Daily reconciliation of positions and cash with the prime and the administrator
- Cash, margin and collateral management
- NAV review and the month-end close calendar
- Investor onboarding, subscriptions and reporting with the administrator
- Archiving, cybersecurity, business continuity and vendor due diligence files
Compliance program
We build the program with your chief compliance officer and counsel, written for this fund rather than adapted from a template, and in place before the fund opens.
- Compliance manual and code of ethics
- Marketing review process for pitch books and performance
- Trading, allocation, error and MNPI policies
- Books and records and electronic communications retention
- An annual compliance calendar built around the firm's filings and reviews
- Training for the team before the first day of trading
Capital introduction
We prepare the fund for allocator diligence alongside the launch, so the pitch book, DDQ, data room and operational answers are ready when the first meetings are. Prime selection takes capital introduction access into account.
Capital introductionLaunch sequence
Plan
Strategy, terms, investor mix, budget and the dated plan.
Structure and register
Entities formed, documents drafted, registration and exemption filings made.
Select and onboard providers
Prime broker, administrator, auditor, executing brokers and systems.
Build the operation and the program
Trade flow, reconciliation, books and records, and the compliance program.
Prepare to raise
Materials, DDQ, data room and capital introduction meetings.
Launch
A full dry run, go-live and support through the first ninety days.