What it takes to launch a hedge fund right now, according to the Wall Street pros who know

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A handful of hedge fund launches each year grab headlines – usually those expected to raise billions, like one from billionaire Steve Cohen and another from Millennium's ex- bond chief, Michael Gelband.

But there are many more fund launches that attract much less attention, with some of those failing to get off the ground at all. 

What does it take to launch a fund these days? We asked Wall Streeters who work in the space – namely those that work in capital introductions, introducing potential investors to fledgling start-ups.

Here's what they had to say. We've lightly edited transcripts from meetings and emails with those we interviewed.

Goldman Sachs: Dean Backer, global head of sales and capital introduction

What have been the biggest trends in 2017?

Backer highlighted the robustness of launches in Asian hotspots – Hong Kong, Singapore and Tokyo – while European launches are slightly above average. The US landscape is probably going to end the year right on average, he added.

What stands out in particular, according to Backer, is that there is more quality, rather than high quantity, launches. The average sized launch is also bigger.

"To get a fund launched in this environment when there is already a lot of product out there, a narrative that's still forming is you really do have to be an experienced manager that can point to past performance, that has a team behind them and generally has had an anchor tenant to get launched," Backer said.

The average launch size, whether median or average, is slightly higher, he said. "It's too tough environmentally if you're not one of the top-of-the-game managers," he said.

What does it take to launch a hedge fund today? 

According to Backer: high pedigree; solid institutional background; experience working in risk-taking role; and consistent outperformance.

"Consistent outperformance is the best way to distinguish yourself both internally and externally," he said.

Other attributes include anchor investors and locking up with early investors.

JPMorgan: Alessandra Tocco, global head, capital advisory group

What is the biggest trend you’re seeing in 2017?

"Macro allocations are on the rise, outpacing other strategy inflows. At $10.1 billion YTD through Q3, net flows to macro strategies are leading other strategy inflows by a clear margin.  This may be attributable to investors seeking to diversify portfolios as equity values become stretched. It may also be a function of performance among single-risk taker managers, particularly those with material EM exposure. Fundamental long/short which had limited interest at the end of 2016 is starting to gain interest from investors."

"Fee compression is one of the most significant trends in the hedge fund space this year, especially with new launches who are not only pricing early fees more attractively, but being very creative around how these scale down over time. [This] ties into the concept below of willing to pay for alpha but not beta."

What do managers need to do to start a large, successful fund?

"Not all new launches are created equal.  We’ve seen non-traditional arrangements such as VC-backed hedge fund launches and technology firms that have incubated new launches.  Having an edge in terms of working capital can give newer firms an advantage over simply having anchor capital. The key differentiators for managers who want to start with significant capital is to have a differentiated investment process, pedigree and a historical track record.

Pedigree (having portfolio manager responsibility at well known prior shops with existing allocator relationships); net worth (need to be able to contribute a real amount of their own capital); plausibility (strategy needs to make sense and be investable now and managers needs to demonstrate clearly defined edge); momentum (need to build and maintain marketing pipeline over a shorter period of time – don’t let it drag on too long); anchor investors that are not traditional LPs (e.g. hedge fund principles); and luck."

Credit Suisse: Bob Leonard, global head of capital introduction

The biggest trends of 2017:

Last year, the story line was that fees were high and funds were underperforming, Leonard said. Investors started asking for better terms, and this year they got it.

More hedge funds are offering better alignment of interests with investors, he said. Some of the perks include lower management fees as assets rise, and requiring a hurdle rate – a benchmark the manager has to hit before charging performance fees. 

New launches are still having a challenging year, however.

He added: 2017 is the year of quants. For managers that don't do quantitative investing, investors are asking them how they'll deal with quant funds in the markets.

And investors have also been asking him how to get access to quant funds. "They feel like they can't ignore it," he said.

To be a $1 billion launch today, a hedge fund manager needs:

An experienced team; a verifiable track record; institutional business with people on staff who know how to run the business side of things; and initial start up capital, according to Leonard.

But a word of caution: don't expect to raise money quickly like the old days. Capital raising takes longer, he said.