Who Not How

Bloomberg recently reported that 2021 Q1 Hedge Fund launches were up at a level not seen since 2017 and marked the third quarter where launches outweighed closures.

Coupled with reports of an influx of capital into hedge funds and this is shaping up to be a great time for the sector. But how can start-up hedge funds ensure they don’t join the ranks of the liquidated firms?

Start-up success

When looking at critical success factors for start-up hedge funds, something that always comes top of the list is getting the right team of people in place. Dan Sullivan and Dr Benjamin Hardy recently collaborated on a book called “Who Not How” which explores how a change of mindset from “How can I do this?” to “Who can do this for me?” will allow founders to build a successful business without working themselves to death in the process.

Delegation is the key

Delegation is a consistent theme throughout “Who Not How”, but it’s not a new concept. Whilst many business owners and entrepreneurs are full of energy and knowledge, believing they can do everything themselves, it makes perfect sense to spend less time and attention on tasks that could be done by someone else so they can focus on more important higher value tasks. If tasks can be done by a specialist then it will be completed quicker, more cost effectively AND provides the Founder time and space to plan, improve and focus on being a Who to their clients.

If you’re a CIO launching a new hedge fund, your skill set probably centres around sourcing and managing investments (being a Who to your investors), not selecting service providers, setting up reporting systems and thinking about operational risk. Play to your strengths from the outset and don’t ask “How do I launch this fund?”, but “Who can help me launch this fund?”. The Who in question most likely will be an experienced COO. Often cited as one of the most pivotal roles in any hedge fund, the COO’s job description is broad and encompasses everything outside of the front office.

Supporting the COO

But with such a broad remit, even an experienced COO might need their own Who or team of Whos to support them. They might need the time and space to plan and scale the business operations and can find this in a Who or team of Whos that have specialist knowledge around systems, pre and post trade activities, compliance, processes and service provider recommendations.

OSMO’s team of Whos

OSMO has a team of Whos that can offer support on a single project, or across the whole operations function longer term. Our expertise spans technology, operational risk management, third party service provider selection, pre and post trade activities, compliance and governance amongst other areas. For a CIO or COO to outsource these core middle office functions to a reliable team allows them to focus elsewhere, safe in the knowledge that they are well supported and all working towards the same vision.

Even as the firm grows and releases new funds, maybe leveraging different fund structures, OSMO’s team of Whos has the broad knowledge base to provide operational support across different functions and a variety of asset classes.

So, if you’re launching a fund or starting a new project, get in touch and maybe our Whos can stop you worrying about How.

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