Seward & Kissel is pleased to release its 2023/2024 Hedge Fund Side Letter Study.
This year, for the ninth year in a row, we have conducted a Study examining side letters negotiated by our hedge fund manager clients (the “Study”). The Study covers the period from July 1, 2023 through June 30, 2024. We believe that the Study provides important data points that are relevant to the industry. Key takeaways include:
- The Study reflected a significant increase in Mature Manager representation (up to 94%), with the average regulatory assets under management (“RAUM”) of the Mature Managers measured at approximately $6.3 billion (as compared to $7 billion in the prior study).
- The average RAUM of Newer Managers in the Study was approximately $150 million, which was similar to the $170 million average in the prior study.
- Funds-of-funds continued to be the most common category of side letter investor, representing 45% of all side letter investors (down from 54% in the prior study), while the endowment category increased to 26% of all investors (up from 12% in the prior study).
- There continued to be a downward trend observed in the number of side letters containing business terms, which we believe is attributable to the high percentage representation of Mature Managers in the Study who are often less willing to negotiate business terms. 71% of the side letters contained just one of the five business terms, 34% contained two of the terms and only 3% had three of the terms.
To download a copy of the Study, please submit the form below.
