STARTING AN ALTERNATIVE FUND SERIES – REGISTRATION & TAX/STRUCTURING
Overview
Structuring and registering your fund can be complicated and it can be a major contributing factor to initial investment and client happiness at year-end. This panel will feature Jason Chertin and Michael Friedman of McMillan LLP, and 1-2 fund managers who have used various structures.
This is part 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
Where
Dial-in details will be sent once registration is complete
CAASA’S Virtual PlatformSPEAKERS
Jason Chertin
Partner
McMillan LLP
Michael Friedman
Partner
McMillan LLP
David Jarvis
President
Corton Capital
Dennis MacPherson
SVP
SGGG Fund Services Inc.
Michael Garofalo
Senior Manager, Audit, Financial Services
KPMG
Jason Chertin
Partner
McMillan LLP
Jason Chertin is the Co-Chair, Investment Funds and Asset Management at McMillan LLP. A significant part of Jason’s practice encompasses working with investment fund managers, portfolio advisors and dealers in establishing, marketing and maintaining investment products, including privately offered domestic and offshore funds, publicly offered mutual funds and other exchange-traded funds. Jason also provides ongoing advice to Canadian and non-resident managers with respect to registration and compliance obligations, and assists clients with regulatory reviews and audits.
Michael Friedman
Partner
McMillan LLP
Michael Friedman is the leader of the National Tax Practice at McMillan LLP. Michael specializes in counselling investment funds and asset managers on the establishment and administration of tax-efficient investment vehicles. Michael regularly guides the formation of institutional and targeted structured products catering to a wide range of domestic and offshore investors. Michael also advises a large number of domestic investment managers retained by international investment funds. Michael has been an active member of the McMillan Tax team that has stood at the forefront of the development of tax-efficient investment fund structures, including Master-Feeder funds, switch funds, and specialized return funds.
Michael has broad experience, and has enjoyed great success, representing clients in resolving tax disputes with both the Canada Revenue Agency and the provincial revenue authorities. Michael has appeared before both the Tax Court of Canada and the Federal Court of Appeal.
David Jarvis
President
Corton Capital
David Jarvis is the founder and one of the principals of Corton Capital Inc. and acts as the firm’s Portfolio Manager. From September 2017 to September 2018, Mr. Jarvis, was the President and Director of Kaleido Capital Ltd. From October 2015 to September 2017, Mr. Jarvis was the Chief Compliance Officer of Forge First Asset Management Inc. where he was primarily responsible for compliance and risk management. While at Forge First, David developed enhanced compliance systems, designed and ran “mock” compliance audits and developed internal risk management guidelines addressing key risk areas – market risk, liquidity risk and credit risk. From 2005 until September, 2015, Mr. Jarvis was a founding partner, Chief Financial Officer, Chief Compliance Officer and a Portfolio Manager of Spartan Fund Management Inc. During his tenure with Spartan, David conceived, designed and co-built the first hedge fund platform in Canada with over 15 funds, portfolio managers/traders/analysts including funds based in Canada and the Cayman Islands. At Spartan David worked closely with each fund group and customized compliance and risk management programs for each type of fund style. During his time with Spartan, the Spartan Multi Strategy Fund LP received Morningstar’s Gold Medal for Best Multi Strategy Fund (Canada) in 2011 after winning the Silver Medal in 2010.
David has also been a Director and Chair of the Audit Committee of Leviathan Cannabis Group Inc. (CSE: EPIC) since November 2018. Leviathan is a publicly traded cannabis company focused on creating brand loyalty while building medical and recreational distribution channels for hemp derived products. Since March, 2010, David has also provided expert witness reports and analysis from time to time in relation to compliance and operations for brokerage and asset managers dealing with such matters as suitability, “know your client”, disclosure obligations, and institutional operational practices. In this capacity, David has been retained by retail investors, institutional clients, and several law firms.
David played an important role in the establishment of the Canadian chapter of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA Canada) and served as the organization’s first Vice-Chairman from 2003 – 2005. David also served as an active member of the Practices & Standards Committee and the Compliance Officers’ Network, 2016 – 2018, of the Portfolio Management Association of Canada (PMAC).
David holds a Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) designation and has an MBA (Queen’s University) and an Hons. BA – Economics (University of Western Ontario).
Dennis MacPherson
SVP
SGGG Fund Services Inc.
Mr. Dennis MacPherson has diverse experience in investment fund operations. He began his career with TD Bank Financial Group supporting Greenline Investor Services. Later, the TD third-party fund business was purchased by AGF Management Ltd., and Mr. MacPherson accepted the role of Director, Dealer Relations for Unisen Inc.
Then, Mr. MacPherson returned to TD Bank to run the Client Transfer Services area, for all products and business lines of the Wealth Management Division. He then accepted a senior management role in Investment Fund Operations, where he was responsible for transaction processing for all TD brokerage and retail distribution channels, and all TD Mutual Funds products.
Mr. MacPherson was then recruited by Felcom Data Services Inc. as the Executive Vice President & Chief Operating Officer, responsible for all day-to-day operations, budgeting, and staffing. There, he developed and grew the business to the point where it was targeted and acquired by CIBC Mellon. After ensuring an orderly transition of all Clients, staff and business processes, Mr. MacPherson made the decision to assume his current role at FSI.
Mr. MacPherson has been an industry leader in process improvement change as a Member or Chair of several Committees and Working Groups, and is currently an active Member of the FundSERV Standards Steering Committee (SSC).
Michael Garofalo
Senior Manager, Audit, Financial Services
KPMG
Mike is a Senior Manager in KPMG’s financial services audit practice based in Toronto. His focus is on hedge fund clients covering various strategies. He recently joined the Toronto firm from the Cayman Islands where his portfolio of clients included private equity funds, fund of funds, venture capital funds and commodity pools. Mike also has experience with insurance companies, brokers and captives. His experience in these industries focused on providing clients with audit and accounting related services.
Mike is also a Past President of the CFA Society Cayman Islands which promotes ethical and professional standards within the investment industry, encourages professional development through the CFA Program, and facilitates the open exchange of information and opinions. He has also contributed to various Cayman Islands Government discussion papers through his role in the CFA Society and as a committee member of the Cayman Islands Society of Professional Accountants Public Practice Committee.