Resources

Guides and checklists

Guides

Practitioner guides for emerging managers

4 guides

Guide13 Jun 2025

Understanding Fund Risks

Every LP investment relies on a term sheet that claims to protect you, but the language is often broader than you expect. This guide covers the eight key risk areas in fund documentation: fee structures, expense allocation, governance provisions, investment parameters, liquidity terms, LP rights, fiduciary standards, and side letters. Learn what to identify on your first read and what to challenge.

Cross-Border Fund Marketing

Every marketing act passes through three independent regulatory gates simultaneously. This guide covers UK financial promotion under s.21 FSMA, EU cross-border distribution under AIFMD Art 42 and CBDF, and US securities law under Reg D/S, ERISA, and the SEC Marketing Rule. The single most common boutique error is stopping at the first gate you clear.

9 chapters18 min

Guide15 Jan 2025

Reading Your Fund Documents as a Compliance Officer

The LPA, side letters, and DDQ are the primary source of most governance answers. This guide teaches the three-gate sequence for every fund-document question: contract first (reserved matters, key-person triggers, valuation clauses), regulation second (SYSC 10, AIFMD conflicts, FUND 3.9, SUP 15), evidence third. It runs Ledger A (fund and contract) and Ledger B (regulatory and firm) in parallel throughout.

8 chapters20 min

Guide15 Jan 2025

Managing MNPI in Private Equity

Deal activity in private markets creates inside information about listed names. Bolt-on diligence, listed comparable analysis, committee seats, board positions, expert calls, and alternative data feeds all generate exposure to UK MAR and the Criminal Justice Act. This guide covers the Art 7 three-limb test, the three Art 14 prohibitions, information-barrier governance, and the evidence spine that survives FCA scrutiny.

8 chapters19 min

Checklists

Interactive checklists for board and compliance teams

7 checklists

FCA Authorisation Checklist for Start-up Fund Managers

This checklist is designed to help start up managers navigate the application process confidently and secure FCA authorisation.

111 checkpoints5 min

Private Equity AIFMD Compliance Checklist

89 checkpoints11 min

Source-of-Wealth & Enhanced Due Diligence

Enhanced due diligence on high-risk LPs is not a box-ticking annual exercise. It is the board's ability to understand the true source and flow of capital, and to refuse capital that contradicts the fund's risk appetite or regulatory obligations. This checklist tests whether the fund can demonstrate that capability at scale.

15 checkpoints12 min

SMF Appointment & Statement-of-Responsibilities

Senior Manager Function appointments under SYSC 5 are legal declarations of governance accountability, not administrative filings. This checklist tests whether the board has actively certified that the right people hold the right responsibilities and that the regulatory file proves it.

15 checkpoints12 min

New Deal Pre-Completion Regulatory Clearance

Pre-completion regulatory clearance is where the fund's governance discipline is tested under real pressure. Deals close on tight timelines, but they do not close without NSIA, merger control, MNPI, sanctions, and allocation sign-offs. This checklist tests whether the deal team and board can demonstrate they cleared all gates before the gavel fell, with a log that proves it.

15 checkpoints12 min

Reverse-Solicitation Evidence-File

Reverse solicitation is a regulatory exception, not a status. A single email from the fund to a passive LP that reads as a solicitation collapses the defence. This checklist tests whether the fund has built an evidence file that proves LPs initiated at every documented step.

15 checkpoints12 min

Personal-Account Dealing & Restricted-List Pre-Clearance

Without a clear pre-clearance gate and post-trade monitoring, funds expose themselves to staff conflicts, market abuse, and regulatory scrutiny. This checklist tests whether the fund has embedded pre-clearance as a practice, not an occasional formality.

15 checkpoints12 min