Over the past few months, many of our hedge fund clients have breached default triggers in their counterparty agreements that are tied to a decline in net asset value (“NAV” resulting in a “NAV Trigger”). NAV Triggers are typically drafted to capture a month over month NAV decline of 15% to 20%, and sometimes that decline includes redemptions.
If you have an ISDA in place, a NAV Trigger will result in an Additional Termination Event (“ATE”) under your ISDA, and you are obligated to formally notify the dealer of that fact. Once notified, you should explicitly request that the dealer waive the ATE. A formal waiver should be in writing, should clearly state the facts that triggered the ATE, and should explicitly waive the dealer’s right to declare an Early Termination Date under the ISDA in respect of that ATE. Below, we have provided a sample waiver that any manager should feel free to use for their funds. Certain of the bracketed facts should be modified to fit a given fund’s particular circumstances, and defined terms should be changed to fit those found in your ISDA.
If you have any questions about the ATEs in your funds’ ISDAs, or about the ATE waiver, please contact us for assistance.
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Monitoring NAV Triggers Amidst Volitility
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David Rothschild is a partner of Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP and routinely focuses on ISDA matters. Cole-Frieman & Mallon is a boutique law firm focused on the investment management industry. For more information on this topic, please contact Mr. Rothschild directly at 415-762-2854.