Moving from a larger trading desk to establish one’s own fund requires a great deal of planning and having the right team to execute it – and in nowhere can this be more glaring than in trade execution and mid/back-office processes.

This session in the series will focus on what start-up managers need to know in order to create their own trade desk (especially those who came from a fire-and-forget trading structure where they could focus on portfolio management exclusively). It will also cover IT set-up and other areas that new manager might not be as strong in (but need to be) when they start out.

Our speakers include a trade execution specialist, out-sourced IT consultant (used by many portfolio managers), and a manager with extensive back-office experience.

This is part 5 of our Starting an Alternative Fund series to be held throughout 2019. The topics this series will cover are the following:

Establishment:

• Structure and registration of the Fund Management Company – including roles, tax planning, proficiencies, capital requirements, creating a business plan, and (important!) managing expectations of investors and those starting the company
• Onshore fund structuring and tax planning – types of funds (including liquid alts) and costs
• Offshore fund structuring and tax planning – jurisdictions, why do so, advantages and disadvantages of structures, cost of going offshore; as well as how to engage service providers in various jurisdictions

Mid/back-office:

• Choosing service providers – primes, legal, auditor, fund administrator
• Compliance and Operations facets of establishing and maintaining a fund management company and various funds
• Finding staff/talent and compensation structures
• Getting ready for operations audits – including prescribed ones by securities commissions and those performed by out-sourced due diligence companies and in-house talent of potential investors
• Specific service providers and niche functions – which might include software, performance reporting (solutions), and trading venders; class action services, Fundserv back-office functions, Managed Account Platforms, due diligence services, and listing funds on an exchange

Sales & Marketing:

• Selling into the Retail channel – true retail/liquid alts as well as Accredited Investors/Offering Memorandum product (will include a primer on liquid alts and the market to date)
• Selling to sophisticated investors – including the Retail Accredited Investor channel, multi and single family offices, and institutional investors such as Canadian and foreign sovereign wealth funds, foundations & endowments, and public & private pension plans (both direct and through investment consultants)
• PR and exposure – honing your message and how to use earned adverting (aka free PR) to deliver it to the right audience (includes use of social media)
• Public opinion and industry surveys – using broad and targeted surveys to deliver actionable data for use in product design, pricing, and messaging