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Platform and Industry updates
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10/16/2024
Interest Rate Cut Not a Moment Too Soon for Emerging Managers Looking to Raise Money
The rising interest rate environment of the past three years has had a marked impact on the private funds market, as investors pulled back from alternatives and rotated into liquid fixed income products, given the higher yield, better liquidity profile, and perceived lower risk. Consequently, fundraising has been down in alternatives generally.
The fund of funds corner of the alternative investment world has, of course, suffered as well. These products have long touted diversification as a key reason to allocate to them, as they reduce single manager risk quite significantly, not to mention effectively outsourcing the manager due diligence function – a task that requires an enormous amount of human capital, and therefore cost – to an expert provider.
But another critical role they play is supporting emerging talent across the alternative investment industry, whether that be the next great equities trader in the hedge fund space, or the next discoverer of tech unicorns in venture capital circles. Smaller, emerging funds are frequently too small to receive a check from an institutional investor, and, as the saying goes, no-one ever got fired for buying IBM – so, the larger, brand name managers get the cash.
The ability to support the next generation has certainly been constrained in the past three years. As can be seen from Tables 1, 2 and 3 below, fund of fund launches have been falling. We looked at data collected by 9AT from October 1st, 2023, through September 30th this year and compared that with the same time period in 2022-2023 and 2021-2022.
In 2023-2024, 1,487 funds of funds have been registered with the SEC, with a total gross asset value of $183.4bn; in 2022-2023, 2,437 fund of funds were registered with the SEC, worth a collective $311.2bn; and in 2021-2022, 2,923 products worth a collective $559.8bn were filed.
In terms of the total GAV*, that is a reduction of close to 70% in just two years.
Table 1: Fund of funds registered with the SEC, Oct 1, 2023 – Sept 30, 2024
Category Total GAV Quantity Private Equity Fund $104.2bn 731 Hedge Fund $45.2bn 263 Other $25.0bn 274 Real Estate Fund $6.6bn 127 Venture Capital Fund $2.0bn 84 Securitized Asset Fund $283.5m 7 Liquidity Fund $45.7m 1 Total $183.4bn 1,487 Table 2: Fund of funds registered with the SEC, Oct 1, 2022 – Sept 30, 2023
Category Total GAV Quantity Private Equity Fund $137.8bn 995 Other $108.4bn 978 Hedge Fund $48.3bn 208 Real Estate Fund $9.8bn 119 Venture Capital Fund $5.2bn 130 Securitized Asset Fund $1.7bn 7 Liquidity Fund $0.0m 0 Total $311.2bn 2,437 Table 3: Fund of funds registered with the SEC, Oct 1, 2021 – Sept 30, 2022
Category Total GAV Quantity Private Equity Fund $329.1bn 1,616 Other $130.7bn 588 Hedge Fund $64.5bn 324 Venture Capital Fund $20.3bn 228 Real Estate Fund $14.2bn 163 Securitized Asset Fund $1.1bn 4 Liquidity Fund $0.0m 0 Total $559.8bn 2,923 September 18th delivered some encouraging news, however, for the alternative investment industry, and fund of funds and emerging managers in particular. The 50 basis points cut by the US Federal Reserve, the first since 2020, could be the beginnings of the spark that the fund of funds space needs to begin to grow again.
There are challenges, of course. A common complaint about fund of funds from investors is that the fees are too high, and they need to ensure that any managers in their portfolio that don’t meet the hurdle rate are compensated for by those that do.
Overcoming those objections is part and parcel of running a fund of funds offering, and they will remain regardless of the prevailing interest rate environment. But it is not only the fund of funds themselves who will be hoping for an upswing in fortunes – budding Henry Kravis’s, Ray Dalio’s, and Michael Moritz’s will also have their fingers crossed.
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09/18/2024
The Beginnings of a Changing of the Guard in Private Fund Service Providers?
Summer is now over – unofficially, at least – and the private fund industry in the US is now back in full swing for what is the home stretch of the year.
So, with the mid-year slowdown behind us, for our blog post this month, we thought we’d check in on the current state of which service providers have been hired by new funds identified from Form ADV’s filed in 2024 so far. We’re also including the overall league table – so, older funds that were previously on the adviser’s Form ADV document - to see if there is anything interesting in terms of firms taking or losing share when it comes to new funds.
We’re looking at administrators, auditors, custodians and prime brokers for this one; we’re also using Gross Asset Value (GAV) of the funds as the league table position determinant. Data is used for the period up to and including 9/2/24.
Administrators
The top five fund administrators for new funds identified on Form ADVs submitted this year are well-known. But what is notable is the gap between State Street, which occupies first place with a GAV of $99.2bn, from US Bank, which holds second place with $36.9bn – almost three times the size.
The biggest mover among the firms nearer the top of the league table is US Bank. Overall, the firm ranked tenth, but is second in the table for new funds.
6,451 new funds representing a GAV of $518.6bn and 72,341 funds in total representing a GAV of $23,765.2bn were filed on Form ADVs submitted since January 1 this year that referenced their administrator.
Figure 1: Top Five Fund Administrators of New Funds Identified from 2024 Form ADV Filings (GAV)
Administrator
Funds GAV
Advisers
Private Funds
Market Share*
State Street
$99.2bn
31
94
19.1%
US Bank
$36.9bn
41
123
7.1%
Bank of New York Mellon
$32.4bn
23
63
6.2%
SS&C Technologies
$30.7bn
135
286
5.9%
CITCO
$25.4bn
60
128
4.9%
Figure 2: Top Five Fund Administrators of All Funds Identified from 2024 Form ADV Filings (GAV)
Administrator
Funds GAV
Advisers
Private Funds
Market Share*
SS&C Technologies
$3.70trn
1,087
5,480
15.6%
Citco
$2.95trn
453
3,608
12.4%
State Street
$2.70trn
297
3,359
11.4%
Northern Trust
$1.59trn
224
1,275
6.7%
Bank of New York Mellon
$1.20trn
199
1,490
5.0%
Auditors
No-one should be surprised by the league tables at the auditor level. Even for new funds identified on the Form ADV, the big four dominate. The only surprise here, perhaps, is the extent to which they do: in both cases, 80% of all funds are audited by one of the big four. That said, for new funds, the total penetration of the big four was 84%, down from 89% of all funds. Could this be the beginning of a trend?
4,434 new funds representing a GAV of $519.3bn and 70,972 funds in total representing a GAV of $28,434.6bn were filed on Form ADVs submitted since January 1 this year that referenced their auditor.
Figure 1: Top Five Fund Auditors of New Funds Identified from 2024 Form ADV Filings (GAV)
Auditor
Funds GAV
Advisers
Private Funds
Market Share*
EY
$179.5bn
153
413
34.6%
Deloitte
$113.3bn
108
356
21.8%
PwC
$91.2bn
158
454
17.6%
KPMG
$54.0bn
175
365
10.4%
BDO
$10.6bn
92
194
2.0%
Figure 2: Top Five Fund Administrators of All Funds Identified from 2024 Form ADV Filings (GAV)
Auditor
Funds GAV
Advisers
Private Funds
Market Share*
EY
$8.92trn
1,446
12,722
31.4%
PwC
$7.26trn
1,444
13,646
25.5%
KPMG
$4.99trn
1494
9,266
17.5%
Deloitte
$4.37trn
1,056
9,658
15.4%
Grant Thornton
$547.1bn
365
1,909
1.9%
Custodians
There is a similar story playing out in the custody world. Market share is not as clear here given that many advisers list multiple custodians for their funds on their Form ADV, but there are two notable differences at the new fund level, with State Street coming in third, up from eighth in the overall table, and Barclays coming in fourth place, moving up from seventh overall. Additionally, the market share of the top five providers at the new fund level is significantly lower than that of the overall picture.
5,721 new funds representing a GAV of $587.9bn and 84,589 funds in total representing a GAV of $26,528.5bn were filed on Form ADVs submitted since January 1 this year that referenced their custodian.
Figure 1: Top Five Fund Custodians of New Funds Identified from 2024 Form ADV Filings (GAV)
Custodian
Funds GAV
Advisers
Private Funds
Market Share*
JP Morgan
$215.1bn
508
1,276
36.6%
Citigroup
$113.4bn
62
172
19.3%
State Street
$105.7bn
34
121
18.0%
Barclays
$98.1bn
19
48
16.7%
Bank of New York Mellon
$91.9bn
175
411
15.6%
Figure 2: Top Five Fund Custodians of All Funds Identified from 2024 Form ADV Filings (GAV)
Custodian
Funds GAV
Advisers
Private Funds
Market Share*
JP Morgan
$11.58trn
2,917
19,865
43.6%
Bank of America
$8.99trn
1,253
9,441
35.2%
Bank of New York Mellon
$8.59trn
1,082
7,051
32.4%
Citigroup
$6.40trn
650
4,731
24.1%
Goldman Sachs
$5.68trn
1,169
1,169
21.4%
Prime Brokers
While specific to the hedge fund category, the prime brokers league table still sees the ‘brand names’ atop both lists. Like the custodian category, hedge funds can, and do, utilise multiple primes, so the market share does not exclude other firms. Still, as in some of the other categories, the market share of those firms atop the overall league table is generally much higher than those atop the new funds table.
1,097 new funds representing a GAV of $162.0bn and 9,904 funds in total representing a GAV of $9926.0bn were filed on Form ADVs submitted since January 1 this year that referenced their prime broker.
Figure 1: Top Five Prime Brokers of New Funds Identified from 2024 Form ADV Filings (GAV)
Prime Broker
Funds GAV
Advisers
Private Funds
Market Share
JP Morgan
$117.0bn
69
108
72.2%
Barclays
$87.6bn
15
16
54.1%
Citi
$85.3bn
14
15
52.7%
Morgan Stanley
$43.7bn
86
119
27.0%
Goldman Sachs
$40.7bn
86
98
25.1%
Figure 2: Top Five Fund Prime Brokers of All Funds Identified from 2024 Form ADV Filings (GAV)
Prime Broker
Funds GAV
Advisers
Private Funds
Market Share
JP Morgan
$6.44bn
689
2,299
64.9%
Goldman Sachs
$6.28bn
946
2,549
63.3%
Morgan Stanley
$6.07bn
1,004
2,517
61.2%
Barclays
$5.27bn
189
625
53.1%
Bank of America
$5.27bn
473
1,345
53.1%
That the big names continue to dominate the league tables in the four categories above should be a surprise to no-one; private fund managers tout their use of ‘brand name’ service providers as a middle and back-office differentiator, hoping that the potential investor feels more comfortable and confident investing in private funds that have an ecosystem supported by these so called ‘blue chip’ providers.
It is clear to see that the admin category is the one where the firms atop the leaderboard have the smallest market share. Regular readers of our blog might recall last month’s piece, where we offered our thoughts on the current state of that category specifically. However, what is notable about the data above is that in every category, the total share of the top providers is lower for new funds than it is overall.
Time will tell as to whether other firms end up taking more share or whether this most recent year is an aberration. And it must be emphasized that the data is only for new funds listed on Form ADVs filed so far this year; with four months still to go, much can change.
Still, we’ll be keeping a keen eye on this as we enter the home stretch of 2024 to see if this is indeed the beginnings of a trend in the private funds space.
*The data used in this article comes directly from the SEC’s Form ADV filings. 9AT does not edit or override data, even when it may appear that a mistake has been made by the filer, due to our data ethics and methodology policy.
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08/07/2024
What Next for Private Equity and Fund Administrators?
A news story from Reuters recently suggested that buyout firm Astorg “is exploring options, including a sale, for its fund services business IQ-EQ” with a view to a sale in 2025.
Whether they sell it next year or hold it for longer remains to be seen. But what does not remain to be seen is the sheer scale of the involvement of private equity in the fund administration industry.
In June this year, trade magazine The Drawdown published its latest Fund Admin Report, which contains a table of fund administration providers, along with their ownership details; of the 30 firms listed, approximately a third are owned either outright by a buyout shop, or have a private equity minority investor.
Private equity firms love themselves a ‘platform’ investment, and fund administrators provide a natural home here due to the complimentary nature of their business with other service providers to pooled investment funds. These deals can scale quickly.
However, the good old-fashioned competitor acquisition would seem to have just as many legs.
Data collected and analyzed by 9AT suggests that, so far in 2024, 281 different firms were listed as the administrator of new private funds based on ADV filings submitted in 2024.* And while some of these private funds administrate their own funds as opposed to hiring an external provider, the long tail in the space remains a boon to buyout firms looking to either enter the space or grow their existing platform portcos.
The outlook for the market is an interesting one. Most industry players agree that generally, the fund administration industry will increase in size, but that is a misleading statement, because its size depends entirely on the AUM of the funds that they administer. Still, with global private capital AUM set to hit $18trn by 2027, there would seem to be plenty of opportunity to for admin firms to increase their AUA.
What is not certain is whether the increase in AUA will be absorbed mainly by the larger firms, or whether smaller players have a chance at closing the gap. One on hand, smaller firms might find it increasingly difficult to compete versus the larger ones as the metamorphosis of a private equity-backed fund admin provider into a diversified middle and back-office fund services business creates a greater gulf between the haves and have nots.
But on the other, smaller firms are nimbler generally, and it is not outside the realms of possibility that a well-funded start-up admin firm could take meaningful share quickly, particularly if they focus on a certain corner of the market – the underlying assets that private fund managers invest into are becoming broader, which should lead to opportunities for specialists to secure a foothold. Add to that the potential for a buyout firm to look to do a lift out of a larger firm’s fund admin team to a separate firm – the advantages which will be existing expertise, existing clients and brand name recognition – and you could see more ‘new’ firms enter the market.
Clearly, there are a few potential developments for the space, and it is unknown which way the market will go. But what is known is that private equity will remain, one way or another.*The data used in this article comes directly from the SEC’s Form ADV filings. 9AT does not edit or override data, even when it may appear that a mistake has been made by the filer, due to data ethics and methodological considerations.
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07/10/2024
Fundraising Drought? What Fundraising Drought?
Back in April, we took at look at some of the Form ADV data to see how many times a private fund changed auditor. In case you missed it, here is the link to that one.
So, now that the first half of the year is in the books, we decided to take a look at the filings data again but this time from a different perspective – just how many private funds have filed a Form D in H1 this year and what, if anything, can we deduce about the results?
Well, the first thing to note is that, by any measure, the private funds industry seems to remain in good health.
According to 9AT data, 5,632 Form D filings were submitted to the SEC between January 1st and June 30th this year, good for a total Gross Asset Value (GAV) of $146bn.* Of those, 462 were hedge funds ($5.8bn), 1,563 were private equity funds ($76.1bn), 2,583 were venture capital funds ($27.1bn), and 1,024 were ‘other’ private funds ($37bn).
Table 1: Form D Filings, Jan-Jun 2024, Gross Asset Value, by Type
Type
Quantity
GAV
Hedge Fund
462
$ 5,835,772,494
Other
1,024
$ 36,967,567,668
Private Equity Fund
1,563
$ 76,116,296,889
Venture Capital Fund
2,583
$ 27,105,706,746
*On occasion, filers may put the same GAV on multiple filings for the same product, which can lead to double counting in certain situations
Source: 9AT
At the domicile level, naturally, the United States occupies top spot, but in terms of offshore locations, Cayman is, once again, the most common offshore jurisdiction in the Americas for Form D filings in the US, accounting for 245 of the Form D filings in the first half of the year, followed by Luxembourg (114 filings). Ireland, a popular domicile in Europe for European managers launching a UCITS vehicle, saw only 10 filings in H1.
Table 2: Form D Filings, Jan-June 2024, Number of Filings by Domicile
Domicile
Number of Filings
United States
5,019
Cayman
245
Luxembourg
114
Canada
40
United Kingdom
29
Source: 9AT
But what most folks really want to know is who is raising money. And it’s mostly the private equity types.
Of the top 10, 5 are private equity funds, 3 ‘other’ funds, one venture capital fund and one hedge fund*. 41 funds in total are raising $1bn or more.
Table 3: Form D Filings, Jan-June 2024, Largest Filings, Type and Gross Asset Value**
Fund Name
Fund Type
GAV
Nautic Partners XI, L.P.
Nautic Partners XI-A, L.P.
private equity fund
$ 3,750,000,000
Pomona Capital XI (Offshore), L.P.
Pomona Capital XI, L.P.
private equity fund
$ 3,500,000,000
Stellex Capital Partners III LP
Stellex Capital Partners III-A LP
private equity fund
$ 3,000,000,000
Ninety One Global Alternative Fund 2 SCSp - RAIF - Africa Credit Opportunities Fund 3A
other
$ 3,000,000,000
ARCH Venture Fund XIII, L.P.
venture capital fund
$ 3,000,000,000
Sterling Group Partners VI, L.P.
Sterling Group Partners VI (Parallel), L.P.
private equity fund
$ 2,750,000,000
Bridge Workforce & Affordable Housing Fund III LP
Bridge Workforce & Affordable Housing Fund III-R LP
Bridge Workforce & Affordable Housing Fund III International Master LP
Bridge Workforce & Affordable Housing Fund III International LP
other
$ 2,500,0000,000
Heitman Value Partners VI, L.P.
other
$ 2,000,000,000
CDOF IV Cayman Fund, L.P.
CDOF IV Delaware Fund, L.P.
Hedge fund
$ 2,000,000,000
Kline Hill Partners Feeder Fund V LP
Kline Hill Partners Offshore Feeder Fund V LP
Private Equity Fund
$ 1,600,000,000
Source: 9AT
*Filers select the option of their choosing; 9AT does not change the definition in its database, regardless of whether industry participants might consider the fund to be a hedge fund, real estate fund, etc.
**The GAV listed in Table 3 for some funds is an aggregate amount of one or more funds, for example, the onshore and offshore versions of the same fund. We have combined those here, where applicable.
The data is notable, especially given the significant coverage in the trade media around the current fundraising climate. Industry data tracking firms across the board are showing that a significant pull back in allocating to private funds such as hedge funds and private equity is occurring, and industry conferences are replete with panels asking when the fundraising environment might begin to pick up.
We’re not saying that there isn’t a fundraising challenge right now. The prevailing interest rate and the geopolitical environment makes allocating to more liquid fixed income strategies more appealing both in terms of an acceptable yield and a perceived safe haven, and certainly, some private asset classes are struggling to maintain an acceptable spread over the risk-free rate.
But an industry that’s raising $146bn in six months arguably doesn’t show an industry that’s struggling either. Plenty of brand name managers are out there raising capital, and there are plenty of opportunities across a range of asset classes where that capital can be deployed.
What will be interesting is whether the second half of 2024 picks up. The recent court ruling in the United States at the beginning of June, where a group of trade associations banded together to sue the SEC alleging an overreach of authority with regards to the regulator’s Private Fund Adviser rule, has been welcomed in many quarters as a win for the space. All things being equal, it might be expected that a clearer regulatory environment (and a less onerous one) should be a catalyst for managers who have been sitting on the sidelines to now file their Form D and officially get out into the market to raise money.
We’ll have to wait until January 2025 to find out how the market fares in the second half of this year.
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06/11/2024
Artificial Intelligence Increasingly Important for Private Fund Managers’ Middle and Back Office
Artificial intelligence (AI) has long been deployed by asset managers in their investment strategy, particularly those that invest in and trade the public equity markets. The sheer volume of price history alone, for example, lends itself well to a technology that can analyse and determine patterns in minutes, as opposed to the weeks it would take a human to perform the same task.
Until the past few years, spending money on AI technology in the middle and back office has been less of a focus for asset managers. After all, it’s the less ‘sexy’ part of the business and has historically played second fiddle to the ‘rockstars’ of the front office.
That’s changing, however. And for a few reasons.
First is the continued fee compression seen in the private markets. As more firms and funds launch, competition increases, driving down costs - classic demand and supply forces. Asset managers need to find ways to lower their own costs so that they can deploy more capital (or maintain the spend) into the investment function. AI is a perfect use case for this; automating tasks previously done manually and speeding up other processes, both of which can save money.
Second is the ‘FOMO’ (fear of missing out) created by the recent explosion in the use of generative content tools like ChatGPT. These tools – which are improving seemingly by the week – can support an asset management firm with producing investor letters and notifying the appropriate people about any potential cybersecurity issues, are just two of many use cases for this technology.
Third is the increasing regulatory burden placed on asset managers in the market. Costs in the compliance function continue to increase due to the ever longer reach of the regulators. These costs aren’t purely hard currency costs; the time costs of compliance impact investment firms here as well. AI can save time and money supporting the compliance function, whether internal or outsourced, with both analysis and reporting.
Fourth is in trade reconciliation. While this is more specific to hedge funds than illiquid private fund categories, the recent move to T+1 settlement in the United States, Canada and Mexico has placed even more emphasis on the need for swift trade matching, and AI’s ability to analyse extensive data sets in order to match trades accurately is a clear use case here.
These themes are all medium to long term, structural trends, which are not going away. A quote often attributed to Bill Gates goes something like this: “If your business is not on the internet, then your business will be out of business.” The asset management version of this would seemingly be,
“If your asset management business is not using AI in the middle and back office, your asset management business will be out of business.”
AI is already an established tool for the portfolio manager to effectively implement their investment strategy. Now, it’s an essential tool for the middle and back office, too.Editor's Picks:
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05/08/2024
The Importance of Getting In at the Start for Hedge Fund Technology Service Providers
Despite the enormous amounts of money that they control, most hedge fund firms are ‘small’ companies: small in the sense of the number of people they employ.
And those that they do employ are busy. Not only is that because all small firms, regardless of industry, tend to exhibit more freneticism on a day-to-day basis than their larger counterparts; it’s because everyone, not just the investment professionals, are watching the markets alongside doing their actual job.
Certainly, they are usually too busy to proactively source new technology suppliers. Most hedge fund firms change their tech when something goes wrong with their existing one or prices rise to what they consider to be an unacceptable level. But they will tolerate price rises to a degree, and the odd glitch or display of poor customer support now and then, because changing providers requires not only sourcing a new one but onboarding it and learning a new system. There are no cost problems in business, only revenue ones, as the saying goes. Ergo, displacing tech competitors is difficult in hedge fund world.
That is why it’s important to get in at the beginning.
According to Form D data collected by 9AT, 299 hedge fund filings were submitted to the SEC in the first four months of this year. Of course, not all of those are emerging or start-up managers, so those existing firms launching new funds will have a tech infrastructure in place already. But plenty enough will be, and the data referenced here is only for the period January – April this year, which means eight more months of filings – and therefore, new hedge funds - coming to market in the remainder of 2024 for sales reps at tech firms to get excited about.
Of course, most of these new firms and funds will have used certain providers at a previous job and will already have their favorites. But it is also true that many of these firms will want to establish their own identity, taking a greenfield implementation approach to how they build their technology infrastructure. And they are often cost-conscious as well, meaning that firms with a more competitive price point have a better chance of success with the newer and emerging manager cohort.
And for firms that have technology that can be applied to many other silos in the alternative investment industry, there is an even larger audience to target. According to Form D data collected by 9AT, there were 998 Form D private equity filings in the first four months of this year, and 1,714 Form D venture capital filings, many more than in the hedge fund space.
There are, of course, many more hurdles for technology companies to negotiate on the route to new customer acquisition success. Tailoring the pitch to the fund’s strategy being one; back in the hedge fund space, it is well documented that equity hedge strategies comprise the preponderance of new launches overall, but not all of them will want the latest and greatest in public-equity related tech. And compliance being another – the SEC’s pending cybersecurity regulations for fund managers means that these firms will be more focused on whether new tech firms can reach a higher compliance bar.
Those hurdles are high – it’s not easy selling tech to a hedge fund. But those technology service providers that do get into new hedge fund firms at the ground level could, in time, enjoy the same competitive advantage that incumbent providers enjoy at the more established firms.
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