Hedge Fund Due Diligence

Author(s):  
Jason Scharfman

This chapter provides an overview of hedge fund due diligence challenges facing investors with a specific focus on the operational due diligence process. Operational due diligence is the process of evaluating the operational risks in place at a hedge fund. In recent years, due to a series of hedge fund failures and frauds, operational risks have become increasingly important. Risk mitigation techniques include information technology infrastructure; evaluations by the board of directors; business continuity planning; hedge fund service provider assessment, valuation, and fund operations; and back-office procedures. Another component of the operational due diligence process involves performing background investigations on key personnel. By seeking to evaluate these types of operational risk, investors can better diagnose and avoid losses from these hedge fund operational failures and outright fraud.

2021 ◽  
Vol ahead-of-print (ahead-of-print) ◽  
Author(s):  
Majed R. Muhtaseb

Purpose The purpose of this paper is events and analysis of present a hedge fund collapse, offer lessons to investors and hedge fund industry stakeholders and propose a possible remedy for mitigating operational risks and associated potential losses. Design/methodology/approach This study focused on one hedge fund case study and conducted a thorough investigation of the events that led to the collapse and eventual filing of the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) complaint. All articles and publications used for this research are available in the public domain and accessible. Findings Wood River Capital Management had concentrated the portfolios of its two hedge funds into one stock, EndWave Corp. Fund Manager violated terms of offering memorandum. Investors were not made aware of and did not discover the operational risks. Stock price of EndWave plummeted. There was no independent oversight over the funds. The values of the two funds dropped significantly. Investors attempted to redeem but the funds were not liquid. The SEC filed a complaint. Mr Whittier was sentenced for three years in jail. Research limitations/implications It is an analysis of US-based hedge fund, not an empirical paper. The article presents critical analysis and offers many valuable lessons to hedge fund industry stakeholders. Practical implications This paper helps investors in terms of identifying a hedge fund’s operational risks and conducting more effective due diligence while vetting a hedge fund. This could potentially save investors and constituents billions of dollars, by avoiding potential hedge fund collapses. This paper suggests that the scope of fiduciary duty be expanded to cover hedge fund industry vendors. Originality/value Thorough research of a hedge fund that collapsed because of poor investment decisions, not self-enrichment at expense of fund investors. This paper provides lessons to investors in terms of identifying a hedge fund’s critical operational risks and conducting value preserving due diligence. This could potentially save hedge funds investors billions of dollars, by avoiding potential hedge fund collapses. This paper recommends that the scope of fiduciary duty be expanded to cover hedge fund industry vendors.


2019 ◽  
Vol 7 (2) ◽  
pp. 56-68
Author(s):  
Tina Kavcic ◽  
Boštjan Delak

With the growing prevalence of cyber threats and cyber attacks enterprises have to manage their cyber risks. There are several risk strategies for cyber risk mitigation. One of them is to transfer the cyber risk to insurance companies through the so called “cyber insurance”. Cyber insurance is an insurance package used to protect companies and individuals from Internet risks, Internet of things risks, and risks associated with information technology infrastructure and activities. It is estimated that approximately 85% to 90% of the cyber insurance market is located in the United States while the European market is estimated to account for approximately 5% to 9%. With the exception of the Baltic countries, smaller countries have problems raising cyber risk awareness within their countries. This paper describes the results of our survey on availability of cyber insurance products in Slovenia. Results show that currently only a few insurance companies even offer cyber insurance products. On the other hand, the survey shows that regulators did not issue any guidelines to insurance companies to develop such insurance products. The aim of this paper is to raise awareness about the potential of cyber insurance products among scholars, insurance stakeholders, regulators, and also among potential clients.


2004 ◽  
Vol 2004 (1) ◽  
pp. 62-67, 72-74
Author(s):  
Joseph H. Nesler
Keyword(s):  

Author(s):  
Mark Jeffery ◽  
Cassidy Shield ◽  
H. Nevin Ekici ◽  
Mike Conley

The case centers on Shilling & Smith's acquisition of Xteria Inc. and the resulting need to quickly scale the company's IT infrastructure to accommodate the acquisition. The case is based on a real leasing problem faced by a major retail firm in the Chicago area when it purchased a small credit card processing firm and scaled the operations to handle the retail firm's credit card transactions. The CIO of Shilling & Smith needs to determine which lease option is the best means of providing the technical infrastructure needed to support the firm after the acquisition of Xteria. Several issues will drive this decision, including the value and useful life of the equipment, as well as the strategic context of the firm. This case examines how to evaluate different lease options when acquiring data center information technology infrastructure. Specifically, the case addresses software vs. hardware leasing, different lease terms, and choosing between different lease structures depending on the strategy and needs of a company. This case enables students to understand the different types of technology leases and in which situations these leases would be employed.The Shilling & Smith case examines how to evaluate different lease options when acquiring data center information technology infrastructure. Specifically, students learn software vs. hardware leasing, different lease terms, and how to choose between different lease structures depending on the strategy and needs of the company. A secondary objective of the case is to teach students the important components and relative costs of information technology infrastructure.


Neurology ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 94 (24) ◽  
pp. 1077-1087 ◽  
Author(s):  
Scott N. Grossman ◽  
Steve C. Han ◽  
Laura J. Balcer ◽  
Arielle Kurzweil ◽  
Harold Weinberg ◽  
...  

The COVID-19 pandemic is causing world-wide social dislocation, operational and economic dysfunction, and high rates of morbidity and mortality. Medical practices are responding by developing, disseminating, and implementing unprecedented changes in health care delivery. Telemedicine has rapidly moved to the frontline of clinical practice due to the need for prevention and mitigation strategies; these have been encouraged, facilitated, and enabled by changes in government rules and regulations and payer-driven reimbursement policies. We describe our neurology department's situational transformation from in-person outpatient visits to a largely virtual neurology practice in response to the COVID-19 pandemic. Two key factors enabled our rapid deployment of virtual encounters in neurology and its subspecialties. The first was a well-established robust information technology infrastructure supporting virtual urgent care services at our institution; this connected physicians directly to patients using both the physician's and the patient's own mobile devices. The second is the concept of one patient, one chart, facilitated by a suite of interconnected electronic medical record (EMR) applications on several different device types. We present our experience with conducting general teleneurology encounters using secure synchronous audio and video connections integrated with an EMR. This report also details how we perform virtual neurologic examinations that are clinically meaningful and how we document, code, and bill for these virtual services. Many of these processes can be used by other neurology providers, regardless of their specific practice model. We then discuss potential roles for teleneurology after the COVID-19 global pandemic has been contained.


Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document