Alternative Investment Operations - by Jason Scharfman (Paperback)

Book Synopsis

Offers detailed practical guidance on developing and managing an alternative investment operations program and step-by-step analysis of the modern operational mechanics behind hedge fund trading operations

Includes analysis of the unique operational practices employed by less liquid alternative strategies including private equity and fund of funds

Contains current examples of real-world alternative investment specific documentation including a fund operations manual, operations focused service level agreements, and operational committee procedural documentation

Comprises up-to-date case studies and demonstrative examples of operational best practices and failures

From the Back Cover

Alternative investments such as hedge funds, private equity, and fund of funds continue to be of strong interest among the investment community. As these investment strategies have become increasingly complex, fund managers have continued to devote more time and resources towards developing best practice operations to support the actual trade processing, fund accounting, and back-office mechanics that allow these strategies to function. Representative of this operational growth, estimates have indicated that fund managers have seen increased operating budgets of 30% or more in recent years.

In today's highly regulated environment, alternative investment managers have also increasingly had to integrate rigorous compliance and cybersecurity oversight into fund operations. Additionally, with recent advances in artificial intelligence and big data analysis, fund managers are devoting larger portions of their information technology budgets towards realizing technology-based operational efficiencies. Alternative investment fund service providers have also substantially increased their scope and breadth of their operations-related services. Furthermore, investors are increasingly performing deep-dive due diligence on fund manager operations at both fund level and management company levels.

This book provides current and practical guidance on the foundations of how alternative investment managers build and manage their operations. While other publications have focused on generalized overviews of historical trading procedures across multiple asset classes, and the technical intricacies of specific legacy operational procedures, Alternative Investment Operations will be the first book to focus on explaining up-to-date information on the specific real-world operational practices actually employed by alternative investment managers. This book will focus on how to actually establish and manage fund operations. Alternative Investment Operations will be an invaluable up-to-date resource for fund managers and their operations personnel as well as investors and service providers on the implementation and management of best practice operations.

About the Author

Jason Scharfman is the Managing Partner of Corgentum Consulting, a specialist consulting firm that performs operational due diligence reviews and background investigations of fund managers of all types, including hedge funds, private equity, real estate, and long-only funds on behalf of institutional investors, including pensions, endowments, foundations, fund of funds, family offices, and high-net-worth individuals. He is recognized as one of the leading experts in the field of due diligence and fund operations. He is the author of several publications including Private Equity Compliance: Analyzing Conflicts, Fees and Risks (2018), Hedge Fund Compliance: Risks, Regulation and Management (2016), Hedge Fund Governance: Evaluating Oversight, Independence, and Conflicts (2014), Private Equity Operational Due Diligence: Tools to Evaluate Liquidity, Valuation, and Documentation (2012), and Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence: Understanding the Risks (2008). Jason has also contributed to the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst (CAIA) curriculum on due diligence, has served on the organization's Due Diligence, Risk Management and Regulation Committee, and holds the CAIA charter.