Traders and money managers often
dream about one day running their own hedge
fund, managing large sums of money, and competing head to head with the
world’s top
traders. For many, though, this dream remains unfulfilled, because they
do not know
where to begin and do not want to squander their resources “reinventing
the wheel.”
The first step toward setting up a hedge fund is getting a
better grasp of what
exactly a hedge fund is. Hedge funds often are compared to registered
investment
companies, unregistered investment pools, venture capital funds, private
equity funds,
and commodity pools. Although all of these investment vehicles are
similar in that they
accept investors’ money and generally invest it on a collective basis,
they also have
characteristics that distinguish them from hedge funds and they
generally are not
categorized as hedge funds.
Unlike a mutual fund, a hedge fund is not
registered as an investment company
under the Investment Company Act and interest in the fund is not sold in
a registered
public offering. Hedge funds can trade in a wider range of assets than a
mutual fund.
Portfolios of hedge funds may include fixed income securities,
currencies, exchangetraded
futures, over-the-counter derivatives, futures contracts, commodity
options and
other non-securities investments.
As the name indicates, hedge funds
initially specialized in hedging and arbitrage
strategies. When Alfred Winslow Jones established the first hedge fund
as a private
partnership in 1949, that fund invested in equities and used leverage
and short selling to
“hedge” the portfolio’s exposure to movements of the corporate equity
markets. Although
hedge funds today often employ far more elaborate hedging strategies, it
is also true that
some hedge funds simply use traditional, long-only equity strategies.
Hedge funds are also well known for their fee structure, which
compensates the
adviser based upon a percentage of the fund’s capital gains and capital
appreciation.
Advisors at hedge funds often invest significant amounts of their own
money into the
funds that they manage.
Although they still represent a relatively
small portion of the U.S. financial
markets, hedge funds are a rapidly growing investment vehicle. The
growth is fueled
primarily by the increased interest of institutional investors such as
pension plans,
endowments, and foundations seeking to diversify their portfolios with
investments in
vehicles that feature absolute return strategies – flexible investment
strategies that hedge
fund advisers use to pursue positive returns in both declining and
rising securities
markets, while generally attempting to protect investment principal. In
addition, funds of
hedge funds, which invest substantially all of their assets in other
hedge funds, have also
fueled this growth. This growth has not escaped the notice of the SEC,
which has
expressed concerns about the potential impact of hedge funds on the
securities markets.
Legal Documents to Set Up a Hedge Fund
To
start a hedge fund, documents are prepared to establish the fund and the
management company as legal entities. The subscription agreement and the
operating
agreements for the fund and the management company also must be drawn
up. One
document that is of particular importance is the private placement
memorandum (PPM),
since potential investors generally rely heavily on the information that
the PPM provides.
The PPM is an extensive document individually
created for each hedge fund.
Although there are no specific disclosure requirements for the PPM
(provided the
offering is made solely to accredited investors), basic information
about the hedge fund’s
adviser and the hedge fund itself typically, in fact is disclosed. The
information provided
is general in nature, varying from adviser to adviser, and it normally
discusses in broad
terms the fund’s investment strategies and practices. For example,
disclosures generally
include the fact that the hedge fund’s adviser may invest fund assets in
illiquid, difficultto-
value securities, and that the adviser reserves the discretion to value
such securities as
it believes appropriate under the circumstances. Also often included is
a disclosure about
the adviser having discretion to invest fund assets outside the stated
strategies.
The PPM usually provides information about the
qualifications and procedures for
a prospective investor to become a limited partner. It also provides
information on fund
operations, such as fund expenses, allocations of gains and losses, and
tax aspects of
investing in the fund. Disclosure of lock-up periods, redemption rights
and procedures,
fund service providers, potential conflicts of interests to investors,
conflicts of interest
due to fund valuation procedures, “side-by-side management” of multiple
accounts, and
allocation of certain investment opportunities among clients may be
discussed briefly or
in greater detail, depending on the fund. The PPM also may include
disclosures
concerning soft dollar arrangements, redirection of business to
brokerages that introduce
investors to the fund, and further disclosure of how soft dollars are
used. Copies of
financial statements may be provided with the PPM.
The PPM reflects
market practice and the expectations of sophisticated investors
who typically invest in hedge funds. It also reflects the realization of
the sponsors and
their attorneys that the exemptions from the registration and prospectus
delivery
provisions of Section 5 of the Securities Act, available under Section
4(2) of the
Securities Act and Rule 506 thereunder, do not extend to the antifraud
provisions of the
federal securities laws. The disclosures furnished to investors
therefore serve as
protection to the principals against liability under the antifraud
provisions.
“Accredited Investors” and Due Diligence
Offerings made to “accredited investors” exclusively are exempt from
disclosure
requirements under Rule 506. If the offering is made to accredited
investors only, issuers
are not required to provide any specific information to prospective
investors. The term
“accredited investors” is defined to include:
• Individuals who have a
net worth, or joint net worth with their spouse,
above $1,000,000, or who have income above $200,000 in the last two
years (or joint income with their spouse above $300,000) and a
reasonable expectation of reaching the same income level in the year of
investment, or who are directors, officers, or general partners of the
hedge
fund or its general partner; and
• Certain institutional investors, including banks, savings and loan
associations, registered brokers, dealers and investment companies,
licensed small business investment companies, corporations,
partnerships,
limited liability companies, and business trusts with more than
$5,000,000 in assets; and
• Many, if not most, employee benefit plans and trusts with more than
$5,000,000 in assets.
Of course, the hedge fund may wish to allow
non-accredited investors into the
fund, in which case it will not be exempt from disclosure requirements.
Moreover, even
if the fund will only open to “accredited investors,” those investors
will want information
about the fund before buying into it. Indeed, prospective investors will
often subject the
fund and its managers to an extensive process of due diligence.
Investors often spend
significant resources, frequently hiring a consultant or a private
investigation firm, to
discover or verify information about the background and reputation of a
hedge fund
adviser. Prospective investors may gain access to brokers,
administrators, and other
service providers during the initial due diligence process, verifying
most information
contained in the PPM (including the adviser’s history). Since the PPM
usually is the
starting point for those conducting due diligence, it remains a crucial
document, even for
offerings exclusively for “accredited investors.”
“Do I need to
register?”
In some cases, subject to a state-by-state
determination, a fund manager may be
required to sign up with his state as an investment adviser if he has
less than $25 million
under management. For amounts under management between $25 million and
under $30
million, the fund manager may choose the regulator – either the state or
the SEC. If the
fund manager has more than $30 million under management, he would need
to register
with the SEC as an investment adviser.
When the situation is
complicated with investors from multiple states, usually a
notice filing is required. It is impossible to make a blanket statement
pertaining to
registration requirements and exemption options, except to say that they
vary by state and
fund structure.
A commodities pool operator (CPO) falls under another
set of registration
requirements. He must take the Series 3 exam, although it is not
required that he be
sponsored to do so. Additionally, the CPO and his related fund may end
up under
regulation from the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and its
selfregulatory
organization, the National Futures Association (NFA).
The Series 7 has
no value to either a Registered Investment Adviser (RIA) or
CPO. If someone has a current Series 7 (they have been registered within
the past two
years with a broker/dealer), he can choose to take the Series 66 instead
of the Series 65.
The Series 7 plus the Series 66 is always (in all states) equivalent to
the Series 65. After
two years of not being with a broker/dealer, all prior registrations
(such as a Series 7)
expire and are no longer valid. Similarly, if someone previously passed
the Series 65, but
did not register it with either a broker/dealer or an investment
advisory firm, the exam has
expired and will need to be taken again.
Alternatives to Full Hedge
Fund Development
Given the registration requirements and the
extent of disclosure necessary, it is no
wonder that many fledgling hedge fund managers abandon their business
plan due to
potentially onerous startup requirements. There is, however, an
alternative for hedge fund
startups that do not have yet the track record necessary to attract new
investors.
An “Incubator” can be created by breaking down the hedge
fund development
process into two stages and isolating the first. The first stage sets up
the fund and
management company entities, as well as pertinent operating agreements
and resolutions.
This is enough to allow the hedge fund to begin trading, usually with
the manager’s own
funds. By trading under this structure, the manager can develop a track
record, which can
be marketed legally to potential investors in the offering documents.
Then, in the second
stage, the PPM is developed with the performance information included.
The Incubator
method affords the opportunity for those with a skill for trading (often
in their personal
accounts) to break down the hedge fund development process into a
manageable
undertaking.
One of the caveats of the Incubator option is that the
fund manager cannot be
compensated for his trading activity. Thus, the acceptance of outside
funds, although
permitted, exposes the fund manager to fiduciary obligations for which
he cannot receive
any compensation. If outside funds are to be accepted, careful planning
is required to
avoid potential legal issues.
Offshore
Though often assumed,
offshore funds are not established for the purpose of
avoiding U.S. taxation. This is the wrong reason to consider an offshore
fund. In short,
setting up an offshore fund is not a tax minimization strategy, as U.S.
citizens and
resident aliens (e.g., green card holders) are taxable on their
worldwide income. The U.S.
tax results depend on the nationality and domicile of the fund manager
and his or her
management company.
The word “offshore” has a certain mystique to
many. Offshore hedge funds are
investment vehicles organized in offshore financial centers (“OFC”).
OFCs are countries
that cater to the establishment and administration of mutual and hedge
funds (“funds”).
Offshore funds offer securities primarily to non-U.S. investors and to
U.S. tax-exempt
investors (e.g. retirement plans, pension plans, universities,
hospitals, etc.). U.S. money
managers who have significant potential investors outside the United
States and taxexempt
investors typically create offshore funds. In many OFCs, the low costs
of setting
up a company, along with a kind tax environment, makes them attractive
to establishing
funds. Offshore funds generally attract the investment of U.S.
tax-exempt entities, such as
pension funds, charitable trusts, foundations, and endowments, as well
as non-U.S.
residents. U.S. tax-exempt investors favor investments in offshore hedge
funds because
they may be subject to taxation if they invest in domestic limited
partnership hedge
funds. Offshore hedge funds may be organized by foreign financial
institutions or by U.S.
financial institutions or their affiliates. Sales of interests in the
United States in offshore
hedge funds are subject to the registration and antifraud provisions of
the federal
securities laws.
Offshore hedge funds typically contract with an
investment adviser, which may
employ a U.S. entity to serve as sub-adviser. An offshore hedge fund
often has an
independent fund administrator, also located offshore, that may assist
the hedge fund’s
adviser to value securities and calculate the fund’s net asset value,
maintain fund records,
process investor transactions, handle fund accounting, and perform other
services. An
offshore hedge fund sponsor typically appoints a board of directors to
provide oversight
activities for the fund. These funds, especially those formed more
recently, may have
directors who are independent of the investment adviser.
Consider
setting up an offshore fund if you manage money for foreign and/or U.S.
tax-exempt individuals and businesses. Under U.S. income tax laws, a
tax-exempt
organization (such as an ERISA plan, a foundation, or an endowment)
engaging in an
investment strategy that involves borrowing money is liable for a tax on
“unrelated
business taxable income” (“UBTI”), notwithstanding its tax-exempt
status. The UBTI tax
can be avoided by the tax-exempt entity by investing in non-U.S.
corporate structures
(i.e., offshore hedge funds).
A manager planning a new fund needs to
answer a few key questions in order to
decide where to register, what kind of investor the vehicle is for,
where those investors
are, and what they want in a domicile. Experienced alternatives
investors typically are
less worried about domicile than are first-time investors. Funds
designed for mass
distribution to the retail market need to have more regulation than
those meant for
wealthy individuals who already are in hedge funds. Some institutions
may be bound by
rules that limit investment to regulated jurisdictions, while others
face no such
requirement.
Single-strategy managers continue to gravitate to
traditional Caribbean locations
and Bermuda, where costs are lower and the regulatory burden lighter
than in Dublin and
Luxembourg. Basic administrative fees are similar in all jurisdictions,
but regulatory
oversight adds to the expense in the European centers. For instance, in
Dublin, funds
need to have a custodian, which is not the case in the Cayman Islands.
While banks and
large fund companies like to have regulations for their retail vehicles
to reassure
investors, the majority of hedge fund managers are small operators, for
whom the extra
costs can be a major burden.
Hedge funds tend to be domiciled in a
handful of places worldwide. In the United
States, domestic hedge fund businesses tend to cluster in a few states,
in particular
California, Delaware, Connecticut, Illinois, New Jersey, New York, and
Texas. Each
state has different tax and regulatory laws. Outside the United States,
several centers in
the Caribbean and Europe present different benefits and costs to fund
managers.
Regulatory burdens and expenses can be worth bearing, depending on the
nature of the
investment vehicle and its clients. A key distinction is sometimes
forgotten. The domicile
of the fund need not be the same as that of its administrator and
custodian. A fund’s
service providers can hail from the other side of the world. Moreover,
the service
providers’ jurisdiction sometimes turns out to be the more important
issue. Let us
specifically review several of the top offshore funds havens around the
globe. A potential
fund manager would first want to avoid any country lacking monetary or
political
stability.
Bermuda: Any fund that wants to incorporate in
Bermuda has to be approved by the
Bermuda Monetary Authority. The investment manager, as well as the
administrator,
prime broker, custodian, and auditors, are subject to BMA approval. Any
change of
service providers requires the prior consent of the BMA. The authority
conducts due
diligence on proposed service providers and investment manager
personnel, including for
instance, background checks in databases to find out whether there has
been any legal
action or NASD or SEC disciplinary sanctions against such individuals.
In addition, a
Bermuda incorporated fund is required to file monthly reports with the
BMA, providing
financial information such as the fund’s net asset value, change in NAV
from the prior
month, amounts of monthly subscriptions, and redemptions and number of
securities
outstanding. The administrator usually makes these filing. Incorporation
can take longer
in Bermuda because of BMA approval rules; however, the process includes
preparation
of offering documents and service provider agreements, which as a
practical matter have
to be ready before the fund can commence operation in any case. For
comparison, in the
Cayman Islands, fund incorporation can occur earlier in the process, but
afterwards time
has to be spent preparing documentation.
British Virgin Islands:
More than 2,000 mutual funds worth an estimated $55 billion
currently are incorporated in the BVI. So too are many hedge funds. In
all, 11 banks
operate on the BVI, catering mainly to high net-worth wealth and trust
management. The
government launched new laws to placate the international community’s
concerns over a
lack of financial regulation.
Cayman Islands: The Cayman
Islands is one of the world’s lowest tax domiciles with no
personal or corporate taxes. Registering in the Cayman Islands does not
involve much
due diligence by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority during the
incorporation
process, but is not necessarily cheaper or faster overall. Cayman does
not require monthly
reports or prior consent to change service providers, but before a fund
can commence
trading, it has to be registered with CIMA under the Mutual Funds Law
(subject to some
exceptions). This means identifying all service providers to the fund
and providing
certain information about the fund and the offering of its securities,
and CIMA has to be
notified of any subsequent changes. However, currently the Cayman
Islands does not
require a fund to file regular reports with CIMA.
The Bahamas:
The Bahamas is a very low tax jurisdiction. Banking, wealth and asset
management are core industries, with around $200 billion under
management. The island
also boasts some 700 mutual funds with around $100 billion.
Master-Feeder Funds
The corporate structure of a hedge fund
depends primarily on whether the fund is
organized under U.S. law (“domestic hedge fund”) or under foreign law
and located
outside of the United States (“offshore hedge fund”). The investment
adviser of a
domestic hedge fund often operates a related offshore hedge fund, either
as a separate
hedge fund or often by employing a “master-feeder” structure that allows
for the unified
management of multiple pools of assets for investors in different
taxable categories.
The master/feeder fund structure allows the
investment manager to manage
money collectively for varying types of investors in different
investment vehicles without
having to allocate trades and while producing similar performance
returns for the same
strategies. Feeder funds invest fund assets in a master fund that has
the same investment
strategy as the feeder fund. The master fund, structured as a
partnership, engages in all
trading activity. In today’s trading environment, a master/feeder
structure will include a
U.S. limited partnership or limited liability company for U.S. investors
and a foreign
corporation for foreign investors and U.S. tax-exempt organizations. The
typical
investors in an offshore hedge fund structured as a corporation will be
foreign investors,
U.S.-tax exempt entities, and offshore funds of funds.
Although
certain organizations, such as qualified retirement plans, generally are
exempt from federal income tax, unrelated business taxable income (UBTI)
passed
through partnerships to tax-exempt partners is subject to that tax. UBTI
is income from
regularly carrying on a trade or business that is not substantially
related to the
organization’s exempt purpose. UBTI excludes various types of income
such as
dividends, interest, royalties, rents from real property (and incidental
rent from personal
property), and gains from the disposition of capital assets, unless the
income is from
“debt-financed property.” Debt-financed property is any property that is
held to produce
income with respect to which there is acquisition indebtedness (such as
margin debt). As
a fund’s income attributable to debt-financed property allocable to
tax-exempt partners
may constitute UBTI to them, tax-exempt investors generally refrain from
investing in
offshore hedge funds classified as partnerships that expect to engage in
leveraged trading
strategies. As a result, fund sponsors organize separate offshore hedge
funds for taxexempt
investors and have such corporate funds participate in the master-feeder
fund
structure.
If U.S. individual investors participate in an offshore
hedge fund structured as a
corporation, they may be exposed to onerous tax rules applicable to
controlled foreign
corporations, foreign personal holding companies, or a passive foreign
investment
company (PFIC). To attract U.S. individual investors, fund sponsors
organize separate
hedge funds that elect to be treated as partnerships for U.S. tax
purposes so that these
investors receive favorable tax treatment. These funds participate in
the master/feeder
structure. Under the U.S. entity classification rules, an offshore hedge
fund can elect to be
treated as a partnership for U.S. tax purposes by filing Form 8832,
“Entity Classification
Election,” so long as the fund is not one of several enumerated entities
required to be
treated as corporations.
Legal Development Process
The legal
development process is one that requires careful planning. As seen
above, a variety of regulatory issues intersects concurrently when
developing a fund: tax,
registration, entity type and classification, jurisdiction, security
type, and so on. The
wisest course of action for those thinking about developing a fund is to
consult with
qualified legal counsel before taking definitive steps. Due to the many
regulatory issues
that must be complied with, it is best to define the structure of your
fund properly before
commencing any form of fund development or engaging the services of
administrators or
service providers.
The legal development process normally begins with
a planning consultation with
an attorney experienced in forming hedge funds. This is where important
determinations
such as registration, jurisdiction choice, and utilization of safe
harbors are made. The
consultation may expose areas (outside the legal process) that need
further planning, thus
requiring the manager to deal with those issues before proceeding. After
clearing up any
such issues, a full engagement is entered into and the legal development
process begins.
The fund and management company entities are first formed in their
appropriate
jurisdictions. This enables the fund manager to begin the process of
opening bank and
brokerage accounts and setting up the administrative functions of the
fund. After the
entities are formed, the legal team gathers the necessary information to
form the
operating agreements for the entities and then the offering documents,
first in draft stage
and then finalized for distribution to prospective investors. The legal
process of setting
up a hedge fund usually can be completed within 60-90 days, though
registration as a
Commodity Pool Operator, specialized circumstances, or delays in
providing information
can lengthen the process.