Prime Brokerage & Hedge Fund Investor Survey 2013
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December 2013 Prime Brokerage & Hedge Fund Investor Survey 2013 Technology helps Redefining the The conundrum boutiques support ‘mini-prime’ model of investing in smaller managers for fund managers emerging managers CONTENTS In this issue… 04 Technology helps boutiques support smaller managers By James Williams 07 Focusing on diversification Interview with Duncan Crawford, Newedge 09 Extending reach to the wider community Interview with Jack Seibald, Concept Capital Markets LLC 11 Redefining the ‘mini‑prime’ model Interview with Robert O’Boyle & Julia Bronson, Liquid Holdings Group 12 Hedge Fund Investor Survey: The conundrum of investing in emerging managers By Marianne Scordel 14 The right relationships are vital to success Interview with Kevin LoPrimo, Global Prime Partners Publisher Editor: James Williams, [email protected] Online News Editor: Mark Kitchen, [email protected] Deputy Online News Editor: Emily Perryman, [email protected] Asia News Correspondent: Hans Schlaikier, [email protected] Graphic Design: Siobhan Brownlow, [email protected] Sales Managers: Simon Broch, [email protected]; Malcolm Dunn, [email protected] Marketing Consultant (CI): Leanda Jane Guy, [email protected] Marketing Administrator: Marion Fullerton, [email protected] Head of Events: Katie Gopal, [email protected] Chief Operating Officer: Oliver Bradley, [email protected] Chairman & Publisher: Sunil Gopalan, [email protected] Photographs: NYC & Company, various Published by: GFM Ltd, Floor One, Liberation Station, St Helier, Jersey JE2 3AS, Channel Islands Tel: +44 (0)1534 719780 Website: www.globalfundmedia.com ©Copyright 2013 GFM Ltd. 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Jefferies Bache, LLC, Jefferies Bache Limited and Jefferies Hong Kong Limited are affiliates of Jefferies Group, LLC. 11/27/2013 11:36:34 AM OVERVIEW Technology helps boutiques support smaller managers By James Williams Given that around 90% of the hedge opening up a huge opportunity for younger fund industry is dominated by smaller non-bank owned primes like London- managers running between USD100milllion based Global Prime Partners whose modus and USD1.5billion in AuM it is perhaps operandi is serve the start-up and emerging little surprise that smaller, boutique prime manager market. brokerage firms are holding their own against “In terms of total industry assets, 80 per bulge bracket prime brokerages owned by cent are probably with the top 10 per cent European and US banks. of managers. That leaves 90 per cent of Banks are now under enormous pressure managers in the marketplace for us. From to strengthen their balance sheets under what I’m seeing, some of the bigger primes Basel III. As a result, their prime brokerage are moving even higher upstream and divisions are becoming ever more ruthless in requiring higher minimum revenues and terms of the size and quality of hedge fund higher minimum sizes (in terms of AuM). managers they are willing to support. This is “I’ve heard of two large primes who have PRIME BROKERAGE Hedgeweek Special Report Dec 2013 www.hedgeweek.com | 4 OVERVIEW recently raised their minimums and that’s intention is to become the top service good news because it means potentially provider in the start-up and emerging more business for firms like us,” explains manager space.” Kevin LoPrimo, Global Head of Hedge Fund O’Boyle adds: “The advantage is we were Services at Global Prime Partners. born in the cloud so we are able to offer Prime brokerage is a massively expensive our solution from a technology standpoint undertaking. Firms need to have significant at an extremely competitive price. Liquid skin in the game to ensure that they Prime Services was born out of our belief have the full suite of trade execution, that there needs to be a full-service offering margining, securities lending, clearing and from front to back across managed services, custodial services in place, as well as non- technology and excellent trade execution: commoditised services ranging from capital offering all of those services on a cloud- introduction to market research, regulatory based platform is effectively what the next consultancy etc. In effect, this requires a generation of hedge funds need.” significant IT spend. For any new manager, the costs of setting One trend that seems to be emerging in up a hedge fund keep rising. Having the the US, in parallel with the rise of boutique ability to keep the IT spend to a minimum primes in Europe, is that of technology yet still receive high-touch support and, at solutions groups moving into the prime the same time, know that the fund’s assets brokerage space. One such firm is recently are being cleared and kept in custody by established Liquid Holdings Group. The tier-one institutions is a significant advantage. Liquid technology platform has been For smaller primes like Liquid and Global developed to support start-up and emerging Prime Partners, developing relationships is managers not only from an execution the name of the game. Indeed, the two firms standpoint via its EMS/OMS solution, themselves have joined forces, with GPP but also to provide pre-trade compliance now using the Liquid platform to extend controls, real-time risk monitoring and even the suite of services – both during and after shadow accounting; all of which is delivered trade execution – to its clients in Europe. on a cloud-based platform. LoPrimo confirms that GPP has broadened What technology firms like Liquid are out its business by establishing clearing and doing is effectively pushing forward the custody relationships with BNY Mellon as evolution of the ‘mini-prime’ model, which well as Deutsche Bank, on top of existing has proved hugely popular in the US but relationships with Nomura and Kas Bank. has, in the view of Robert O’Boyle, EVP of “Working with other service providers Sales & Solutions, been a limited model. opens more doors for us and gives us This is because until now mini-primes more ammunition when we are targeting have focused almost exclusively on providing new managers or looking to open