Independent Fund Administration for Asia-focused Fund Managers

Amid the backdrop of last year’s market downturn, mechanical provisions such as side pockets, run-off portfolios, suspensions, gates and payments-in-kind were readily employed by fund managers as a means by which to stem the tide of redeeming investors. Ultimately, the abuse of such legal levers resulted in mistrust, intolerance and disgust on the part of regulatory authorities and investors across the globe. As fund managers attempt to regain the confidence of an increasingly sophisticated investor constituency, structural flexibility and architectural transparency is critical.
 
At Altree Fund Services (“AFS”), we believe that investor satisfaction is a function of i) performance, ii) transparency and iii) control. Given increased investor demand for both transparency and control, performance tends to suffer as the time and costs involved rise exponentially. By leveraging its existing infrastructure and the expertise of its professionals, AFS offers unparalleled flexibility and increased cost efficiency as fund managers attempt to meet the demands of an increasingly sophisticated investor constituency. 

Why AFS?

• Expertise in fund formation & jurisdictional compliance with offices in the Americas, Africa & Eurasia.
• Extraordinary track record of performance with over 150 funds formed across multiple jurisdictions
• Exceptional standing with leading financial centres & strong operating presence in OECD white-listed domiciles
• Flexible solutions & ability to implement segregated account fund structures in as little as 1 week from start to finish
• Long-standing relationships with preeminent legal advisors, audit firms & tax experts across the globe

AFS is at the forefront of Asian fund structuring with hands-on experience in working with numerous fund managers across a variety of different investment strategies. The Firm has worked closely with Asia-focused fund managers in the areas of long-only & hedged equity, derivatives-based trading (i.e. global macro, market neutral, futures, et al), distressed / event-driven (i.e. CDS, CDO, exotics / synthetics, et al), private equity and real estate. As such, AFS has contended with numerous structural issues, including:

• Multi-layered ownership structures 
• Hong Kong & Singapore SPV creation 
• PRC equity & cooperative joint venture election 
• Wholly Foreign Owned Enterprise control & disclosure issues 
• QDII / QFII qualification & program compliance 
• Licensing requirements & registration with CSRC (PRC), FSA (Japan), MAS (Singapore) and SFC (Hong Kong), among others 
• Creation of offshore fund vehicles including Cayman Island SPCs, Bermuda SACs, British Virgin Island SPVs, Jersey ICCs, Mauritius PCCs, Guernsey PCCs and Luxembourg UCITS, among others 
   

Delivering investment performance remains the principal goal of fund managers worldwide. Yet increased regulatory intrusion and the emergence of standard-setting bodies are placing remarkable challenges on operational personnel with most firms employing in-house compliance, risk management, treasury and technology officers. AFS offers fund managers a controls-oriented administrative solution designed to ensure that its valuations, reconciliations and reporting adhere to best practices as outlined by the Hedge Fund Standards Board (HFSB) and International Organization of Securities Commissions (IOSCO).

Services Include (but not limited to): 
 

• Multi-asset class, multi-currency & multi-strategy fund valuation 
• Real-time position capture, P&L and NAV calculation 
• Impairment analysis, appraisal & preparation of supporting documentation for methodology framework & modeling assumptions 
• Pre-examination reviews in preparation for audit, accounting & regulatory examination 
• Clarity on ownership & control issues (i.e. trademarks, product molds, real estate, et al) 
• Calculation of taxable profit, capital gains tax protection, withholding tax rates on interest & dividend payments, permanent establishment issues & tax deductibility of funding costs, among other items 
• Corporate secretarial & share registrar 
   

Altree Fund Services is uniquely suited to fill the emerging administrative and fund servicing gap facing Asia-focused fund managers.