Managing money for others

I appreciate the many very informative posts on this thread.

I want to set up an offshore fund of funds, initially a private fund. If I can achieve a 3 – 5 year track record of the kind I have achieved with my longer-term investment portfolio, I will “go public” with offering memorandum, respectable administrator etc at that point.

Until then, I want to start tiny and do it all myself – the point is that I want a structure in place that can establish a track record. I am already familiar with establishing offshore structures & offshore banking and I am not in a hurry. I will start with €1m of my own money (I have been promised multiples of that from others, but at this stage would prefer not to have to deal with OPM until I am at least comfortable with my set up). Obviously, with the small start-up capital, there will be very few initial holdings, but I am satisfied with my initial core portfolio.

My question is this, please : can anyone recommend software on which to run this ? It does not need to be complex (better not be if I am to operate it), but it does need to be able to account for new subscriptions, withdrawals and changing investments (ie. take care of all NAV calculations).

J.
 
there is a new provider / solution for the $700K-20mio+ AUM range fyi. fund is delivered turnkey no upfront cost charged to manager 2/3 weeks to get up and running incl prospectus etc / for the manager to start trading. "fund" is actually a segregated portfolio from a cayman SPC structure, got his separate ISIN code which comes in handy. admin is state of the art, can produce daily NAV at no extra cost, published daily along with that of the other portfolios for investors and prospects' attention... total fees to manager are as fair as it gets, no stupid BS... bye bye fortis, citco etc... they even have a deal with citco re access to the funds database, so are an attractive option for FoF as well...
http://www.elitetrader.com/vb/showthread.php?s=&postid=1298665&highlight=geneva#post1298665
 
Thanks for the link 2cents.

My research has shown that there is quite a bit of software out there that might do the job during my "track record" period. It may even be simpler for me to hire someone to code the new subscription / withdrawals / NAV calcs formulae into Excel.

In your first post in your link, you refer to UBS : do you know that they can provide services to smaller funds ? I have an account with them and will be in Zurich next month, but I would be very interested to know if your mentioning them was specific rather than "wish list".

J.
 
Quote from J-Trade:

My question is this, please : can anyone recommend software on which to run this ? It does not need to be complex (better not be if I am to operate it), but it does need to be able to account for new subscriptions, withdrawals and changing investments (ie. take care of all NAV calculations).
More...

I can recommend Trade Depot by Technicom, Inc. Link: http://www.technicominc.com/

And, like you say, another alternative is Excel. If you are just looking to calculate returns and NAV's you should be able to calculate it in Excel pretty easily. If not, I recommend learning how. Calculating returns and compounding them is a skill every money manager should have.


Aaron Schindler
Schindler Trading
 
Quote from J-Trade:

Thanks for the link 2cents.

My research has shown that there is quite a bit of software out there that might do the job during my "track record" period. It may even be simpler for me to hire someone to code the new subscription / withdrawals / NAV calcs formulae into Excel.

In your first post in your link, you refer to UBS : do you know that they can provide services to smaller funds ? I have an account with them and will be in Zurich next month, but I would be very interested to know if your mentioning them was specific rather than "wish list".

J.
More...
100% specific, not wish list. they also have CS signed up as a custodian i subsequently learned.

re soft to do what you want, http://www.hedgefundcalculator.com/ for instance, can't get much cheaper than that, but you need your track record audited by a reputable firm for it to be "considered" by institutionals.

i did approach UBS back then when i didn't even have $1mio AUM and they did talk to me, but they wanted me set up as a "fund" first, not a managed accts structure, therefore didn't go v.far... what services for instance please? to me the key from the investor's point of view is that there be a reputable fund administrator => reliable NAV, safe flow of funds. perhaps UBS will direct you to the solution i am referring to in the above posts ;-) cheers
 
2cents - the Hedgeco software looks like the best package for the job so far.

I am pursuing an auditing contact in the Isle of Man and will also discuss with UBS end-Feb.

Thanks to all who responded - it has been very helpful.

J.
 
good luck with it - let us know what quotes you get from the lawyers please, i cldn't get anywhere below $20K for the incorp, registration, prospectus etc paperwork at the time, and i did squeeze a few pairs of balls to get there, believe me... but things change

cheers
 
just read the thread from the start - impressive inputs from joetrader & cptrader!

am nowhere near that level, although been moving a fair bit of volume relative to my small AUM size... guess thats why RBS, UBS, DB etc were interested in talking...

in any event, for people interested in having / switching over to an efficient and economically sensible offshore structure, and not willing to spend 100% of their time with lawyers accountants etc, and the other 100% researching & trading...

. agree the turnkey deals, when we're talking of an individual setup that has to be made from scratch, usually suck

. in the case i mentioned though (not saying its the only one btw, although i do think it is for now...), its an up & running cayman SPC cum 100% electronic Geneva fund admin setup with active funds & managers already onboard the whole thing, ie no teething problems... saves a lot of time and energy, seems to me

. whats the catch then? why am i to believe that i can sign up with'em and i'll have my own portfolio infrastructure habilitated to start trading within a few weeks with its own ISIN code, prospectus etc (cookie cutter of course therefore some work required here but anyone who doesn't expect that is a fool imo...), via brokers / ECNs of my choice at rates better than i cld get if i went direct thks to the scale effect, and at no cost to me... when i hear / read about 3-6mths min to set up & register etc a fund and the guargantuan amounts i'm going to be charged if i take the "classical" route? gotta be a scam or they're going to rip me off elsewhere, right?...

well, actually, no :-))))))))))) ... thing is, if one re-reads joe & cptrader's posts and does the maths, you'll see how the usual posse of well-established administrators are milking it, for not so good service really, and how there is ample room there for able & suitably equiped firms (with top-tier relationships in place) to jump in and undercut them big time... and still make loads and grow quick!
 
There are probably people here, myself included, that are looking to place money. Wonder if ET can be a clearinghouse for this activity?

I would be interested in talking to anyone who has a good track record and method. I am probably not the only one.

Traveler
 
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