Tag Archives: offshore hedge fund

Independent Directors for Failed Offshore Hedge Fund Found Personally Liable

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Weavering Case Overview

An August 26, 2011 judgment of the Grand Court of the Cayman Islands, Financial Services Division, held two independent directors personally liable for “wilful neglect or default” in exercising their supervisory responsibilities as directors of the Weavering Macro Fixed Income Fund Limited (the “Fund”). The two independent directors were ordered to pay US $111 million plus costs.

The judgment is notable because it gives guidance for directors of Cayman Islands companies in discharging their “duty to exercise independent judgment, to exercise reasonable care, skill and diligence and to act in the interests of the [Fund].”  The guidance is likely to impact the manner in which offshore directors supervise functions that are delegated to professional service providers, including investment managers and administrators.  The court indicated that the exercise of the power of delegation “does not absolve [independent directors] from the duty to supervise the delegated functions.”  “They are not entitled to assume the posture of automatons . . . without making enquiry . . . on the assumption that the other service providers have all performed their respective roles . . . .”

The following points made by the court in the opinion provide useful guidance for independent directors as well as the professional service providers in coordinating with and responding to the supervision of independent directors.

Supervision During Fund Establishment Phase

  • Directors should satisfy themselves that the overall structure of a fund is consistent with Cayman Island industry standards and that the terms in the service providers’ contracts are reasonable.
  • Directors should understand the nature and scope of work of each of the professional service providers and determine that the division or responsibilities between the service providers is appropriate.
  • Directors should satisfy themselves that the hedge fund offering documents comply with the requirements of Cayman Islands law (in particular section 4(6) of the Mutual Funds Law). The court suggests that this may be done by making inquiry of the lawyers who have coordinated the work of developing the offering documents.

Supervision During Ongoing Operations

  • Directors should convene board meetings to discuss matters of substance and not simply to rubber stamp routine matters raised by the investment manager. Generally, an agenda should be prepared in advance of the meeting and the substance of discussions should be maintained in the minutes at least to the extent that it is necessary to understand the basis upon which any decisions were made and any resolutions passed.
  • Directors should review a fund’s balance sheet and other financial reports so that they can understand the fund’s general financial/NAV position and satisfy themselves that a fund is trading in accordance with any investment restrictions.
  • If directors accept a responsibility for a fund’s financial statements, they must exercise independent judgment in satisfying themselves that the financial statement do present fairly the fund’s financial condition.
  • Directors must be cognizant of issues that are likely to arise from side letters and determine whether there could be an adverse impact on a fund before approving or signing the letters.

Conclusion

We have talked previously about some of the offshore hedge fund structural considerations and we have discussed the issues involved with establishing a Cayman hedge fund, but we have not specifically written a post about the obligations of directors of offshore hedge funds.  Independent directors of offshore funds will need to be more cognizant about their duties going forward and the position needs to be taken seriously.  As with other high profile hedge funds that have failed, certain service providers and directors are being taken to task for not properly doing what they were supposed to do.  As more lawsuits go through the courts we are likely to see more lawsuits similar to this lawsuit.

The case can be found here: Weavering Judgement – Grand Court of the Cayman Islands

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Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP provides legal services to domestic and offshore hedge funds.  Bart Mallon can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.  Karl Cole-Frieman can be reached at 415-352-2300.

 

Hedge Fund Subscription & Withdrawal Process

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The hedge fund subscription process (i.e. placing investor money into the fund’s brokerage account for investment) is a basic process that may be slightly different for each fund based on a number of factors.  Managers should make sure they understand the subscription process because investors may ask questions about the process and how the subscription amounts ultimately get into the fund’s trading account.  This post will discuss the framework for how subscription amounts move from the investor to the fund’s bank and brokerage accounts.

Bank Accounts

We previously discussed items related to establishing bank accounts for a hedge fund structure.  In general bank accounts will be established for the fund as well as the management company.  Establishing a bank account for a fund will be required when a fund’s broker requires all subscriptions and withdrawals to come from/go to a “same name” bank account.  Some managers may choose not to establish a bank account for the fund and simply have the prime broker deal with subscriptions, redemptions and fund expenses if their prime broker does not have “same name” requirements.  For the purposes of this article we generally discuss the subscription process with respect to structures where there are bank accounts for each individual fund.

Fund Administrator

The subscription process will be different if the fund utilizes a full service administrator instead of a non-full service administrator.

Full Service Fund Administration

If a fund’s administrator deals with the subscription process as well as the general accounting and NAV calculations (usually referred to as “full service” administration), then the fund manager generally will not deal with the subscription process at all.  Many times the “full service” administrator will actually establish (or work with the manager to establish) the bank and brokerage accounts and will dictate to the manager the subscription process.  Usually in these circumstances the administrator will also act as a “second signer” to add a layer of protection to the assets.  [Note: the “second signer” process essentially involves the fund administrator reviewing and approving all movements of money from the fund’s bank accounts.  While this service has been around for a number of years, it has become more common post-Madoff.]

Non- Full Service Fund Administration

For fund’s which do not have full service fund administration, the manager will be generally responsible for accepting subscription amounts and then making sure the amounts are properly moved to the brokerage account.  Generally the attorney will work with the manager to help the manager establish the proper structure and processes but managers should also discuss the process with the administrator to make sure all parties understand how the movement of subscription proceeds affect the calculation of the NAV.

Subscription Process in General

Generally the investor will wire the subscription amount to the fund’s bank account.  In the case of individual investors, subscriptions may sometimes be made by check.  Once the subscription amount has been credited to the fund’s bank account, it may either be wired to the fund’s brokerage account or it may sit there until the first

day of the trading period.*  Either the manager or the administrator (as described above) will work with the bank and broker to make sure the subscriptions are correctly transferred.

* Note: there are a number of different issues which may arise at this point including situations where the subscription is placed in the brokerage account before or after the first day of the trading period, and whether the investor will receive interest on the subscription amounts prior to the amounts being transferred to the brokerage account.  These issues should be discussed between the fund manager, administrator and lawyer prior to the fund launch.

Single Fund Structure – Domestic or Offshore Hedge Fund

In a single fund structure, whether the fund is located in the U.S. or offshore, moving subscription amounts is straight-forward.  Investors will place assets in the fund’s bank account and then the subscription amounts will be wired to the fund’s brokerage account. Generally a withdrawal is processed by a wire from the fund’s brokerage account to the fund’s bank account and then by a wire from the bank account to the withdrawing investor.  Depending on the broker, subscriptions and redemptions may be able to be effected directly between the investor and broker for credit/debit directly to the fund’s brokerage account.

Single Fund Subscription Process: Single Fund Structure Org Chart – Investor Subscription Process

Offshore Master-Feeder Hedge Funds

Offshore master-feeder funds will have process similar to the single entity fund structure process.  The general master-feeder hedge fund will have domestic taxable investors invest into a domestic feeder fund and offshore and non-taxable U.S. investors invest into an offshore feeder.  Both feeder funds will then invest directly into the master fund which ultimately makes investments directly.  A typical investment process might be: investors wire funds to the appropriate feeder fund bank account, the feeder fund then wires the subscription to the master fund bank account and from there the subscription amount would be wired to the brokerage account.  As above, withdrawals would be processed in the reverse order.

Master-Feeder Subscription Process: Master Feeder Org Chart – Investor Subscription Process

Mini-Master Hedge Funds

Mini-master hedge funds are becoming more popular because of cost considerations.  Additionally these structures can be easier to deal with from an operational perspective.  In the basic mini-master structure there will be two fund entities – an offshore fund and a domestic fund.  Then, like the traditional master-feeder structure, offshore investors and non-taxable U.S. investors will place their assets in the offshore feeder and U.S. taxable investors will place their assets in the domestic feeder.  Domestic investors will subscribe to the domestic fund which will act as the “master” fund.  From there the offshore fund will invest its assets in the domestic “master” fund, becoming in-essence an investor in the domestic fund. [Note: separate post on mini-master hedge funds to be coming soon.]

Mini-Master Fund Subscription Process: Mini-Master Org Chart – Investor Subscription Process

Other Items

The above discussion is general – each fund structure is unique and there may be certain reasons why a specific fund may have a process which is different from the discussion above.  Indeed, in many cases the administrator and broker may be able to handle subscription amounts which bypass the bank accounts or the feeder funds in master-feeder structures.  In any event, the fund manager’s operational team should work closely with the administrator to develop processes to ensure that the subscription process is seamless.  We have specifically not discussed offshore segregated portfolio companies or series LLC structures because these structures are unique and subscription processes may vary widely.

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Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP is a hedge fund law firm which provides comprehensive formation and SEC/CFTC regulatory support to start-up and established hedge fund managers.  Please contact us if you have any questions.

Bart Mallon, Esq. can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.  Karl Cole-Frieman can be reached at 415-352-2300.

Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act Introduced by Senator Levin

Bill Would Have Significant Impact on Private Funds

On July 12, 2011, United States Senator Carl Levin (D – Michigan) introduced the Stop Tax Haven Abuse Act of 2011 (the “Bill”). A prior version of the Bill was introduced in 2009. The Bill contains several provisions of interest to private fund managers, including provisions that:

  • Treat foreign corporations whose management and control occur primarily in the United States as U.S. domestic corporations for income tax purposes;
  • Clarify under the Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) when foreign financial institutions and U.S. persons must report foreign financial accounts to the IRS;
  • Treat Credit Default Swap (“CDS”) payments sent offshore from the United States as taxable U.S. source income; and
  • Require Anti-Money Laundering (“AML”) programs for hedge funds, private equity funds, and formation agents to ensure screening of offshore clients.

The Bill also authorizes the Treasury Secretary to take special measures against foreign jurisdictions or financial institutions that impeded U.S. tax enforcement as well as imposes additional disclosure requirements on multinational corporations by requiring them to include basic information on a country-by-country basis in their filings with the SEC. Notably, the Bill does not include a controversial proposal in the 2009 bill that specifically identified 34 “Offshore Secrecy Jurisdictions,” including the Cayman Islands and British Virgin Islands.

Foreign Corporations Treated as Domestic Corporations

Section 103 of the Bill prevents companies that are run from the United States from claiming foreign tax status if those foreign corporations

have gross assets of $50 million or more. The provisions indicate that gross assets includes “assets under management for investors, whether held directly or indirectly.” For corporations primarily holding investment assets, the management and control is treated as occurring primarily in the United States if “decisions about how to invest the assets are made in the United States.” These provisions if enacted could potentially eliminate any benefits of establishing offshore funds, which are primarily established for offshore and U.S. tax-exempt investors.

Strengthening FATCA Provisions

The U.S. Foreign Account Tax Compliance Act (“FATCA”) imposes a 30% withholding tax on U.S. persons holding offshore accounts on certain “withholdable payments” to “foreign financial institutions” which do not provide information about their U.S. accounts to the Internal Revenue Service. A “withholdable payment” is generally any U.S. source income, such as interest, dividends, rents, royalties and other fixed or determinable income (“FDAP”). Non-U.S. private funds will generally qualify as foreign financial institutions (“FFI”). In order for an offshore fund to avoid withholding, it must enter into an agreement with the U.S. Treasury to identify its U.S. investors, if there are any.

Section 102 of the Bill would expand the definition of a foreign financial institution to include entities that engage in derivative transactions. Section 102 also creates presumptions of U.S. control for purposes of certain legal proceedings for entities with accounts opened at non-FATCA institutions when those entities are established by or receive assets from U.S. persons.

Treatment of Credit Default Swaps

Existing tax laws allow CDS payments to avoid taxation if sent from the United States to persons offshore, such as an offshore hedge fund or foreign bank. Section 104 of the Bill would treat CDS payments sent offshore from the United States as taxable U.S. source income.

Anti-Money Laundering Programs for Hedge Funds

Sections 203 and 204 of the Bill would impose anti-money laundering requirements on unregistered investment companies, including hedge funds and private equity funds, and formation agents. Hedge funds would be required to establish AML programs; ascertain the identity of investors, including beneficial owners of foreign entities; and submit suspicious activity reports. Agents engaged in the business of forming corporations or other legal entities would also be required to establish AML programs.

Our Thoughts

The Bill will still need to survive a vote by both the Senate and the House and ultimately be signed by the President before becoming law.  There is likely to be some time before this Bill moves forward (especially considering the current focus on the debt ceiling) which means plenty of time for the industry to lobby against this effort.  However, the bill highlights the unpopularity of the investment management industry with certain members of Congress and it is no surprise we see proposed taxing provisions- the U.S. needs more tax revenue and investment managers are an easy group to target.  We see this every couple of years when various members of Congress propose to increase the carried interest for fund managers.  It will be interesting to see how this plays out and we will provide periodic updates on the situation.

For more information about the Bill, refer to Senator Levin’s July 12, 2011 press release.  Senator Levin has also released a summary of the bill as well as his floor statement introducing the bill.

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Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP is a law firm which provides advice with respect to domestic and offshore hedge fund operations.  Bart Mallon can be reached directly at 415-868-5345; Karl Cole-Frieman can be reached at 415-352-2300.

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New BVI Hedge Fund Regulations Start 01/01/2011

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Transition Period for BVI Mutual Funds Act of 1996 Ends on December 31, 2010

Sponsors with funds located in the BVI should be aware that at the beginning of next year there will be a new regulatory regime.  Starting on January 1, 2011, all funds must comply with the requirements of the Securities and Investment Business Act, 2010 (“SIBA”) instead of the current Mutual Funds Act, 1996 (“MFA”).

The new laws are much stricter than the previous laws and continue the push by the BVI Financial Services Commission (FSC) to maintain greater oversight of funds located in the BVI.  Managers with BVI funds should pay careful attention to the new laws and make revisions to their documents or operations accordingly.

Below is an overview of the major new requirements under the SIBA:

  • Disclaimer on Offering Documents – in the event a fund offers interests or shares on or after December 31, 2010, the fund offering documents must be amended to include the prescribed investment warning under the new law.  The subscription agreements must also include an acknowledgement from any new investor that it has received, understood and accepted the investment warning.
    • Note: these documents must be filed with the Financial Services Commission (“Commission”) within 14 days of their issue.
  • 2 Directors viagra canada – all private funds must at all times have at least 2 directors (at least 1 of which is an individual).
    • Note: a change of the board (and auditor) must be filed with the Commission within 14 days.
  • Manager, Administrator, and Custodian – all private funds must have a manager, an administrator, and a custodian which is independent from the manager and administrator.
    • Note:  funds may apply to the Commission from an exemption from the requirement to have a custodian or a manager.
  • Notices
    • Appointing a new custodian, administrator, prime broker, or manager must be reported to the Commission at least 7 days prior to the appointment.
    • Audited accounts must be filed within 6 months of the financial year end.
    • 14 days notice to the Commission is also required for change in place of business and amendments of constitutional or offering documents.
    • Annual returns must be filed by June 30 of each year.

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Bart Mallon, Esq. is a hedge fund attorney and works with a variety of domestic and offshore hedge fund manager.  He can be reached directly at 415-868-5345.

Start a Hedge Fund in the Cayman Islands

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How to Set Up a Cayman Islands Hedge Fund

There are two main jurisdictions to establish an offshore hedge fund (either as a single hedge fund or as part of a master-feeder structure).  The two jurisdictions are the BVI and the Cayman Islands.  This article will discuss some of the features of Cayman Island based hedge fund structures.

Why the Cayman Islands?

Cayman has been the leading jurisdiction for fund formation with an estimated 80% of the world’s hedge funds domiciled there.  As of December 2008, Cayman had over 10,000 hedge funds registered with the local regulatory authority: The Cayman Islands Monetary Authority (“CIMA”).

First and foremost: establishing a fund in the Cayman Islands is easy and efficient, offering managers many competitive advantages over other jurisdictions including:

  • Non-public funds can be registered in as little as 3-5 days with CIMA and the vehicle of choice for the fund can be registered within 1 day prior to filing, if necessary;
  • Flexible statutory regimes, with an absence of exchange control provisions, that are well-established and relatively low-cost;
  • There are no restrictions on: (i) investment policy (ii) issue of equity interests (iii) prime brokers or (iv) custodians;
  • The regulatory and legislative environment is continuously evolving to strengthen the jurisdiction’s appeal for hedge funds in response to ever changing market conditions;
  • Cayman is a tax neutral jurisdiction – there are no capital gains, income, profits, withholding or inheritance taxes attaching to investment funds established there, nor to investors in such investment funds;
  • Cayman is a British Overseas Territory and as such maintains all of the security and stability associated with the British flag.  The UK remains responsible for the islands’ external affairs, defence and their legal system; and
  • The quality and expertise of the Cayman Islands local services, infrastructure and legal system is well above par.

Does Every Hedge Fund Have to be Registered with CIMA?

While most funds (90%) will be required by Cayman Islands law to register with CIMA, there are some funds that will not: those funds where the equity interests are not held by more than 15 investors who collectively have the power to appoint or remove the “operator” of the fund i.e. the director, trustee, or general partner, depending on the fund’s choice of vehicle.  For example, a private fund or closely held funds such as partners’ funds or those in incubation “testing the waters” before launching into the registered world.  These funds need not make filings or pay fees to CIMA.

All other funds must register with CIMA, pay annual fees and undergo annual auditing.

What are the CIMA Hedge Fund Registration Requirements?

1.  Incorporation/Formation of the fund vehicle.  The fund must be in the form of one of three vehicles: i) a Cayman Islands Exempted Company (most common); ii) a Unit Trust; or iii) an Exempted Limited Partnership.  (The latter is popular with US investors as the Cayman Islands Exempted Limited Partnership Law follows the equivalent legislation in Delaware.)  There must be a minimum of two (2) directors appointed to the fund – corporate or individuals.  The directors need not be local.

2.  Preparation of the fund’s Offering Document.

3.  Preparation of the fund’s constitutional documents (i.e. Memorandum and Articles of Association) to reflect the terms of the Offering Document.  This is usually done by way of amending and restating the constitutional documents after the vehicle for the fund has been properly formed (see 1 above).

4.  Preparation of the service agreements i.e. administration agreement/investment management agreement/advisory agreement etc.

5.  Preparation of the form of subscription agreement to be executed by the investors of the fund.

6.  Resolutions must be passed approving: the Offering Document, service agreements and the issue of equity interests by the fund.

7.  All of the following documents must then be submitted to CIMA:

i)    A certified copy of the fund’s certificate of incorporation (or otherwise, depending on the vehicle used);
ii)    Fund’s Offering Document;
iii)    Application Form (“Form MF1”);
iv)    Auditor’s letter of consent; (A local auditor must be appointed.  Such auditor must also sign off on the fund’s audited financial statements which are to be submitted annually to CIMA.)
v)    Administrator’s letter of consent (no requirement for local administrator);
vi)    Registration fee (approximately US$3,000 (subject to change))

What Are the Costs for CIMA Registered Funds?

The total approximate costs of setting up a Cayman Islands Hedge Fund will include: the incorporation/formation costs of the vehicle required plus the ongoing annual fee (for exempted companies); the annual administrator’s fee; the annual auditor’s fee; the initial registration fee of the fund with CIMA and an annual fee to maintain the fund’s registration, and any legal fees associated therewith.

Quotes for incorporation etc. and estimates for services may be obtained from service providers and legal counsel directly, as these will likely vary.  Legal counsel may provide recommendations for service providers upon request.

Article Written by Michelle Richie

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Please contact us if you have any questions or would like to start a hedge fund. Other related hedge fund law articles include:

Bart Mallon, Esq. has written most all of the articles which appear on the Hedge Fund Law Blog.  Mr. Mallon’s legal practice, Cole-Frieman & Mallon LLP, is devoted to helping emerging and start up hedge fund managers successfully launch a hedge fund.  If you are a hedge fund manager who is looking to start a hedge fund, or if you have questions about investment adviser registration with the SEC or state securities commission, please call Mr. Mallon directly at 415-296-8510.

Hedge Fund Auditors | Thought Piece From Castle Hall Alternatives

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The following article is by Christopher Addy, President and CEO of Castle Hall Alternatives, a hedge fund due diligence firm.  We have published a number of pieces by Mr. Addy in the past (please see Hedge Fund Fees, Hedge Fund Due Diligence Issues, Issues for Hedge Fund Administrators to Consider and ERISA vs. the Hedge Fund Industry).  The following post can be found here.

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And the auditors work for….

Audit opinions of a hedge fund’s financial statements are unlikely to make the New York Times bestseller list.  As a result, we can certainly understand if the auditor’s fine print is not exactly top of the list for investor attention.  However, not all audit opinions are the same and, over time, it seems that different audit firms are quietly introducing different standards of care and attention – and, of course, liability, which is always the 800 pound gorilla.

The issue is the addressee of the audit report – or, put more simply, who the auditor works for.  In a public company, the auditors report to both the shareholders and the Board of Directors.  A quick web search gives us a couple of examples – GE and Goldman Sachs (don’t laugh at the Level III assets, by the way).

In a hedge fund, however, sometimes the audit report mentions the shareholders, but sometimes it does not.  What seems to be a fine difference is actually very profound – exactly why would a hedge fund auditor report only to the Board of Directors and deliberately fail to address their report to the shareholders?  Adding insult to injury, of course, is the reality that the average Board of Caymanian rent-a-directors hardly acts with the same vigor and intervention as the non execs on the boards of GE and Goldman.

In our experience, certain audit firms appear to have taken a deliberate decision to direct their audit opinions, wherever possible, only to the directors.  This is a difference which applies across both US GAAP reports as well as audits completed under International Financial Reporting Standards.  Check 10 audit reports from different firms, and see what we mean.

The underlying issue – of course – is the lack of investor control.  Investors, if asked, would very likely have an opinion on this issue: but, needless to say, they are not asked.  Audit engagement letters are signed under cloak and dagger secrecy (usually because they include ever more expansive terms seeking to limit auditor liability under Caymanian law).  Thereafter, as investors and due diligence practitioners know to their ongoing annoyance, it proves incredibly difficult and pointlessly time consuming to get some auditors even to confirm that they are the auditor of record for the hedge fund in question.

In the short term, one answer would be for offshore jurisdictions such as the Cayman Islands to mandate that all audit reports filed for Caymanian hedge funds be addressed to the shareholders rather than just the Board.  If it’s good enough for GE, it should be good enough for any hedge fund.

In the bigger picture, however, this is just one question within the broad construct of Hedge Funds 2.0 post Madoff.  Unfortunately, it is only investor pressure which can enforce any change so that service providers – auditors, administrators, lawyers et al – take responsibility and recognize that their primary duty of care is to the investors that pay them.  Without that pressure, hedge funds will continue to be the asset class where everyone wants to get paid, but no-one wants to take responsibility.

www.castlehallalternatives.com
Hedge Fund Operational Due Diligence

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Other related hedge fund law and start up articles include:

Hedge Fund Taxation – Law School Professor Perspective

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Overview of Hedge Fund Taxation

The following is a reprint of the Joseph Bankman’s testimony before Congress.  Mr. Bankman is a professor at Stanford Law School.  While the testimony has a bias against the current hedge fund taxation structure, it provides a great overview of hedge fund tax issue, specifically the taxation of the hedge fund performance fee (also known as a “performance allocation,” “carried interest” or “carry”).  Ultimately the future of the hedge fund taxation regime will be decided in the political arena, but this article provides a good overview of the arguments for changing the current tax code.  Continue reading →

Offshore Hedge Funds – Side by Side Hedge Fund Structure

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Offshore hedge funds can be structured in a number of different ways including a stand alone structure, a master-feeder structure and a side by side structure.  This article discusses the side by side hedge fund structure and also provides a side by side offshore hedge fund organizational chart.  As we have noted earlier in an article regarding offshore hedge fund structural considerations, a side by side offshore hedge fund is a structure consisting of two distinct entities which are managed in the same way by a single management company.

I attached the following Offshore Side by Side Hedge Fund Organizational Chart so that hedge fund managers can get an idea of the structures involved and the flow of payments. This specific chart details (1) a management fee and a performance allocation paid from the domestic counterpart and (2) a management fee and a performance fee paid from the offshore counterpart.  Offshore hedge fund managers should discuss these aspects of their offshore hedge funds with their attorneys. Continue reading →

Offshore Hedge Fund Formation Overview – Hedge Fund Timeline

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There are many reasons why managers will want to form hedge funds in offshore jurisdictions like the Cayman Islands or the British Virgin Islands.  While a domestic hedge fund can be established in as little as two to three weeks (depending on whether the manager must be registered as an investment advisor), the offshore hedge fund will usually take around 6 to 10 weeks to form, depending on a number of different factors.  This article will detail the process of creating an offshore hedge fund.  Continue reading →

BVI Offshore Hedge Fund – BVI Entity Formation and Costs

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British Virgin Islands Hedge Funds

The British Virgin Islands (BVI) is the second most popular jurisdiction for offshore hedge funds behind the Cayman Islands.  In many ways the offshore hedge fund formation process is better in the BVI, and it is certainly much cheaper.  This article will detail the costs to establish a management company and a hedge fund in the BVI.  It will also detail to costs for BVI registered agent services. Continue reading →