The hedge fund and investment management industry has seen many radical changes during the last year, including the consolidation (or elimination) of the large prime brokerage firms. Because of these events many funds have moved to a multi-prime broker model instead of the more traditional single prime broker model. There are obviously many advantages to going to a multi-prime broker model (including the reduction of prime broker bankruptcy risks), but there are also many logistical issues which need to be considered.
Start up hedge funds which wish to use a multi-prime broker approach should discuss this option with their hedge fund attorney as well as their hedge fund administrator which will be able to help with the back end aggregation of the prime brokerage fees. Additionally, managers may want to seek a software solution like the one from Advent described in the press release below. Continue reading