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Cayman Fund Manager Platform's
Hedge Fund Platform
Crypto Fund Platform
In addition to providing a range of solutions to establish a stand-alone offshore investment fund, Bell Rock also operates
(a) an investment fund platform; and
(b) a digital asset/crypto hedge fund platform
Each platform provides significant cost efficiencies for asset managers who want to avoid the typical upfront legal expenses and time frame for launching a fund, such as the following:
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Hedge Fund – any hedge fund strategy
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Long-Only Fund
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Fund of Funds
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Private Equity Fund
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Venture Capital
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Real Estate Fund
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Mining/Natural Resources Fund
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Shipping Fund
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Infrastructure Fund
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ESG Fund
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AI Funds
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FX Funds
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Commodity Funds
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Digital Assets & Cryptocurrency
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Raising Capital;
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Portfolio Management; and
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Building an Audited Track Record
Bell Rock’s expertise in launching and structuring funds, along with our focus on governance and compliance has enabled us to provide fund managers with a turn-key solution that helps fund managers focus on what they do best:
Key Benefits of our Cayman Fund Platform:
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Low Upfront Cost
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Regulated by the Cayman Islands Monetary Authority
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Regulated Independent Service Providers in place, in line with regulatory and governance expectations of investors:
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Legal Counsel (all legal documents tailored to investment strategy and fund terms)
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Fund Administrator
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Auditor
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Independent Directors
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Compliance & Regulatory Reporting
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Banking & Custody
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Domiciled in the world’s leading jurisdiction for hedge funds – the Cayman Islands, which is well-regarded by investors, a British Overseas Territory.
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Suitable for both open-ended and closed-ended funds.
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No restriction on investment strategy – can be hedge fund strategy, traditional long-only, private equity, real estate, infrastructure fund and more.
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Ability to list on an Internationally Recognised Stock Exchange.
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We can also advise on setting up a Cayman based investment management company and support services.
Bell Rock offers fund platform services for fund managers and possesses broad knowledge of the fund management space internationally. Please share with us a bit of history about your business and the key milestones you have achieved so far.
Bell Rock has always been in the fund management space, as a regulated Cayman Islands based provider of fund governance and fund structuring for a number of years. Over the years, we realised that many fund managers look for cost efficiencies given increased regulatory and compliance costs generally in the industry so we decided to extend our capabilities and build out the leading hedge fund platform. A very important factor that has also helped us grow our portfolio of managers is the ever increasing cost of regulation, compliance and operations. For smaller fund managers to handle non-investment related business is not very cost effective. In addition, for existing wealth managers, family offices who have looked to create an offshore fund for their current range of funds, then our platform has proved to be an attractive option.
Can you tell us about the broad range of services on offer with reference to your overall value proposition?
We also provide a platform for portfolio managers and private bankers who are planning to go independent. These private bankers are usually senior and have extensive experience in managing money for their clients under managed account structures. The reason they join us is that they want to give their clients complete independence. Joining us allows them to custodise their client’s assets and provide an audited track record.
What sets your firm apart from the other service providers in your industry?
Our fund platform has a rather dynamic approach compared to our competitors. The essence of our business is to be able to cater to professionals within the finance industry. What sets us apart is that we have different business lines that have synergies with each other. We also strive to tailor our services and the structures to the clients’ needs. We do not believe that one size fits all in our industry.
Our turnkey Cayman fund platform is meant to be a quasi plug and play option for start up fund managers and existing asset managers wanting an offshore fund. Essentially a fund platform is supposed to make launching a fund seem rather seamless, and ensure that managers focus on managing money rather than business management aspects. The process is rather straightforward when launching a fund on the platform. We will first ensure that we understand the fund managers’ needs operationally. Also we are required to understand where the fund managers’ investors are from; so that we can make sure we get the structure correct. The average time it takes to launch a fund on the platform is generally four (4) weeks, which enables fund managers to get up and running in a very short space of time.
What sets your firm apart from the other service providers in your industry?
In the past few years, smaller funds have trended towards outsourcing non-investment related services to third party providers. What does setting up a fund via platform have to offer as compared to in-house administration? Out of the entire suite of services provided to your clients, which have proven to be the main draw for fund managers?
Via a platform the manager leverages off the experience of the platform and the network. Many start-up errors can be avoided. Basically, the start-up manager is able to access top-notch service quality for a fraction of the price if he were to do it alone.
The fund management universe covers a wide spectrum of different asset classes and strategies, types of investment vehicles and different jurisdictions. Which category of clients do you specialise in serving and what kind of customised solutions do you offer them?
Our systems allow us to serve all types of fund managers. Generally the fund managers tend to be long only absolute return, global macro, long/short equity space, arbitrage, etc. However, we are agnostic in terms of what type of fund manager we on-board. The fund proposed can be either open-ended or closed-ended, have great flexibility with regard to the terms of the fund, leverage used, fees charged and there is no minimum initial investment amount for investors though most have a minimum of US$100,000 (or in equivalent currencies).
With rising breakeven costs for fund startups, and a greater preference on part of investors to allocate to the larger funds, liquidation rates for the smaller players in the industry have been significantly higher. Can you share with us the average lifespan and liquidation rate of the funds on your platform? Do you feel fund platforms such as your can increase the chances of fund survival given the lower costs?
From history and experience, we have seen that funds may shut down shop after three to four years as they were not able to raise any significant capital or if performance was not adequate. Our model is built to offer the fund managers economies of scale and access to top notch service providers at very competitive rates. Our success is based on the success of the fund managers so we want them to succeed and we are focused on building long-term partnerships with the fund managers on the Platform.
Hedge fund platforms promise to reduce the barriers to entry by reducing the regulatory, compliance and administration costs of running a hedge fund. Is there considerable scope for these cost savings to be transferred onto investors in the form of lower management/performance fees?
We are of the opinion that there is no reason to lower the management fees and performance fees of a fund because the overhead operational costs are lower. This is especially true given that most start-up managers have very small AUM and in many cases actually subsidise the platform costs from their own pocket in order to cap the TER of the Fund at acceptable levels at the early stages of the fund. From experience we have seen very large managers taper down their management fees as the funds reach very large sizes, although this is not very frequent. The savings have a tendency of giving investors comfort because it enables the manager to prolong his chance survival and thus gives him more time to raise assets.
On a final note, what advice would you give to new and potential hedge fund start-ups setting off with just a few million in assets?
The advice we would offer to start up fund managers would be to carefully consider the correct structure when launching a fund and to ensure that they understand the costs of running a fund and the regulatory framework. To launch with US$5 million to US$15 million on your own you have a lot of overhead costs to deal with, whereas with a platform you pay a fee and you get everything sorted out and you learn along the process.
New fund managers need to think about growing their business and making sure they minimise their costs in the initial stages. The key is to build a sustainable business, and focus on investment decisions. Let professionals manage the business side while you focus on the investment side, this gives you complete segregation of duties which investors prefer in any event. Let Evolution provide the Platform for you to concentrate on raising capital, your investment strategy and building an audited track record.
Do you cater for emerging managers only or well established larger fund offerings?
We cater for a mixture. Some are start-up hedge fund managers and some are much larger institutional investor fund offerings. There is no maximum size of fund that may be on the platform and the service provided by us is the same approach as we see for all funds, which provides conformt to fund managers knowing that their approach is guided on what the industry expects.
Where do I find out more?
For further information on how we can help you launch your fund or even a range of funds on the platform, then please contact us: info@bellrockgroup.com
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