ALBT offers high-quality, fund governance through credentialed independent professionals leveraging advanced governance technology to serve investment funds. We are guided by the four pillars of investor protection in delivering a fast, reliable and accurate service to investment funds of all types and sizes. The ALBT approach to Fund Governance goes beyond simply providing a single director to a fund and is built on the belief that fund governance is a continuum – a system of checks and balances. ALBT Professional Independent Directors are assisted by a specialist team of associate directors and associates that audit each governance transaction with common sense judgment in ways that enhance existing operational risk controls.
We provide fund stakeholders with unparalleled transparency and uncompromising accountability of the fund governance process through our Fund Governance Transparency Report (“FGTR”) and our Independent Directors’ Report (“IDR”). The IDR, which is available upon request, complements and builds on the success of our FGTR and provides stakeholders with full transparency into the fund governance process to assist in assessing the quality of the performance of the board of directors of a fund. The IDR and FGTR are unique to ALBT and provide fund stakeholders with a level of assurance of the integrity and effectiveness of the fund governance process that is unmatched in our industry.
Our substantial and diversified client base includes the world’s leading investment funds, financial institutions and high-net-worth individuals. With the industry’s largest team of full-time professional independent directors, associate directors and associates — all utilizing forensic governance techniques and leveraging industry-leading proprietary technologies — ALBT successfully operates more fund directorships than anyone else in the world. Our expertise is complemented by a comprehensive range of specialized investment fund services capabilities, making ALBT a full-service firm for investment advisers and funds.
Our principals are recognized as leaders within the global investment industry and have played integral roles in the development of the industry over the last four decades and have pioneered many of the practices and techniques that have now become standard in the industry.
WHY CHOOSE THE WORLDWIDE LEADER?
UPGRADE TO THE MOST COMPLETE FUND GOVERNANCE PLATFORM
Choosing ALBT allows you to aim high and take advantage of a truly successful, full-service professional firm with the most fund directors, the most experience, the most advanced governance technology, and the most infrastructure resources – all in one place – with no hassles or limited options. Our platform of professional independent directors offers broad, deep and diverse talent options for you to build the most effective governance solution. We invite you to explore how the most intelligent managers and investors worldwide are currently leveraging DMS capabilities to provide high-quality fund governance to their investment fund structures, through a myriad of roles including, but not limited to:
ACCESS OUR GLOBAL RELATIONSHIPS
ALBT represents the most funds and the most investors in fund governance. After more than 40 years working closely with them, we maintain highly valued relationships with a wide variety of investors globally, including many of the world’s leading investors, seeking to allocate capital to attractive funds. We are continuously having conversations with investors across our global investor network, providing leads on opportunities to invest in promising funds. We would welcome the opportunity to include your fund in these conversations.
ENHANCE YOUR CREDIBILITY AND REPUTATION
The selection of your independent director should be made in the same way as any professional service provider to your fund; based on talent, competence, experience and track record. Hire the most successful firm that you can afford as success begets success. Since its founding in 1976, ALBT has been stress tested throughout several periods of extreme market crisis and has performed flawlessly. We are proud that ALBT and its fund directors have never been the subject of any legal or regulatory judgments, investigations, censures or disciplines in our entire history.
ALBT has received extensive media coverage from leading publications like Financial Times and hedge fund publications including Hedgeweek, where we have been consistently ranked as the Best Offshore Regulatory Advisory Firm – number one for the last five years. Most notably, ALBT is consistently recommended by leading investors and service providers worldwide, and selected by leading managers for our outstanding reputation and exceptional service.
By any credible measure, ALBT is the undisputed leader in fund governance and the benchmark against which all others are compared.
AVOID CONFLICTS OF INTEREST
The selection of your independent director should be made in the same way as any professional service provider to your fund; based on talent, competence, experience and track record. Hire the most successful firm that you can afford as success begets success. Since its founding in 1976, ALBT has been stress tested throughout several periods of extreme market crisis and has performed flawlessly. We are proud that ALBT and its fund directors have never been the subject of any legal or regulatory judgments, investigations, censures or disciplines in our entire history.
ALBT has received extensive media coverage from leading publications like Financial Times and hedge fund publications including Hedgeweek, where we have been consistently ranked as the Best Offshore Regulatory Advisory Firm – number one for the last five years. Most notably, ALBT is consistently recommended by leading investors and service providers worldwide, and selected by leading managers for our outstanding reputation and exceptional service.
By any credible measure, ALBT is the undisputed leader in fund governance and the benchmark against which all others are compared.
GAIN DEEP VISIBILITY THROUGH OUR GOVERNANCE, RISK, AND COMPLIANCE TECHNOLOGY
ALBT size is a major advantage to the funds that we serve, giving you deep visibility and learning into governance, risk, and compliance benchmarking practices worldwide to stay abreast of industry trends. Controlling, auditing and managing governance, risk and compliance functions are enormous challenges and no single mind of any independent director can fully comprehend the full range of risks inherent in operating a modern hedge fund.
At ALBT, these capabilities come built into our platform to help you simplify meeting even your most stringent governance, risk and compliance requirements. Through our secure client portal, managers and investors can access ALBT Governance Transparency reports on-demand to gain real-time visibility into exactly what oversight work the directors are performing for your fund, in an easy-to-analyze format that eliminates guesswork. This unique reporting feature is an industry-first, only available at ALBT.
Data security and protection is also critical in today’s cyber environment. All ALBT client funds benefit from robust data architecture to safeguard and satisfy the requirements of the most security-sensitive managers and investors.
ACCESS OUR GLOBAL INFRASTRUCTURE OF FUND RESOURCES
ALBT is able to provide you with more than just an independent fund director, including a quality team of hedge fund professionals to support the speed and agility of your team. Leverage our extensive resources and sharp industry IQ to support you in your journey and help you advance your business across the world. You won’t outwork us.
ALBT serves multiple jurisdictions worldwide. Each ALBT fund director acts independently and is supported by a set of ALBT resources within the same zone to achieve the greatest possible availability and consistent service quality.
We are steadily expanding our global infrastructure to help our client funds succeed and we pledge to keep pace with your growth. As your business grows, ALBT will continue invest in the highest quality people and technology to support your fund governance, risk and compliance requirements.
MANAGE YOUR COSTS
ALBT understands that small clients become big clients so we aim to give you more value for your money. ALBT is able to make premium independent director services more affordable for you by leveraging the financial benefits of our economies of scale. Our scale gives you flexible and multiple options to utilize our services according to your requirements, including tiered pricing that adapts to your growth so you don’t need to settle for less and can afford the highest quality governance from the outset. Our goal is to help you grow and succeed.
Principal and Agency cross transactions are a valuable tool for investment managers, however, they also present high inherent risks.
UNDERSTANDING THE COMPLIANCE RULE
No one standard set of policies and procedures will address the requirements established by the Compliance Rule for all advisers because each adviser is different, has different business relationships and affiliations, and, therefore, has different conflicts of interest. Given that the facts and circumstances that can give rise to violations of the Advisers Act are unique for each adviser, each adviser should identify its unique set of risks, both as the starting point for developing its compliance policies and procedures and as part of its periodic assessment of the continued effectiveness of these policies and procedures.
Our Independent Representatives audit every governance transaction with common sense judgment in ways that are additive to existing operational risk controls. Backed by a strong risk and compliance team, our Independent Representatives comprise high-quality former leading industry professionals and regulators who utilize forensic governance techniques and leverage industry-leading proprietary technology to serve all our clients needs. Our insights are grounded with decades of real-life fund governance experience, leading to trusted and reliable results, helping you to effectively develop and execute this process.
Whatever our role, we strive to meet the strict fund governance standards of transparency and accountability that investors demand.
As part of ALBT Governance’s Fund Governance services, our Independent Representative services help you to effectively develop and execute this process.
DISTRESSED FUND ADVISORY
ALBT applies thoughtful, decisive action for funds in turmoil, using a three-staged approach of analysis, strategic planning and implementation. We seek to provide the foundation for a strong and sustained recovery or an efficient dissolution if recovery is not viable.
INDUSTRY-LEADING DISTRESS DEBT INVESTING AND ANALYSIS
Our historic success is based on our extensive financial and operations experience in fund management and strong industry relationships with investors and counterparties.
Our deep industry expertise and credibility with regulators sets us apart from our competitors and we take a proactive approach to the administration process. We have extensive experience working with receivers and the SEC to protect shareholders investments and bring about recovery. Our team of highly skilled professionals have provided depositions and expert witness statements in order to protect investor capital. In our considerable experience, selecting the right advisor in these circumstances can potentially save investors millions of dollars.
Our team approach of sharing lessons learned when problems arise has allowed us to build on this knowledge base and work as a supportive team to evaluate all possible solutions to a forensic problem. The backgrounds of the team include, lawyers, accountants, traders, and economists which all approach a problem from different angles to come to a well formulated solution and course of action.
Our principals are highly skilled and have been directly involved in large, complex, and high-profile distressed hedge fund situations, including Long Term Capital, Beacon Hill, Wood River Partners, Mother Rock, Northshore and Shetland Fund, among many others.
INVESTMENT FUND CONSULTING SERVICES
The ALBT team includes some of the industry’s most experienced and talented fund professionals. We deliver fund consulting services that help our clients excel in today’s complex asset management environment.
HANDS-ON AND EXPERIENCED HEDGE FUND CONSULTANTS
What differentiates ALBT from other fund governance advisors is the depth and diversity of experience in hands-on operation of investment funds. ALBT consultants have years of experience in all aspects of private investment funds and access to enormous volumes of big data for bench-marking purposes. With our expertise serving the leading names in the industry we can help you optimize the operating model for your fund.
Utilizing our detailed approach to process design and improvement, we provide our clients with carefully thought scorecards, metrics and governance that provides you with not only insight into the depth of your business, but the steps needed to move it to the next level.
Our Board Support Services team combines the best of our governance expertise and industry-leading technologies to ensure the smooth running of the fund’s governance requirements. We uphold the highest standards of professionalism to support your business interests, reputation and commercial success.
BOARD OF DIRECTORS SUPPORT SERVICE
At ALBT, we have dedicated professionals who are there from start to finish, ensuring successful board meetings. We manage all administration, including coordinating the reporting and attendance of all services providers, preparing comprehensive board packs and reviewing previous documentation. We provide qualified and efficient employees to attend meetings and, where required, take minutes and ensure all decisions are recorded as necessary. Post meeting, our clients are assured of timely drafting and circulation of minutes and all necessary follow-up actin points to ensure your company is up-to-date and compliant.
We provide safe and secure record keeping. Our record keeping solution allows you to respond quickly and confidently to critical information requests. It exceeds the standards of all regulators across our global office network, including the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), which require that funds retain documentation for a minimum of six years, the first two in an easily accessible place.
ALBT offices have a selection of spacious, well-equipped boardrooms available for meetings in a professional and comfortable environment. Boardrooms are available seven days a week and include the provision of administrative and IT support. Video conferencing and professional catering are also available.
FUND GOVERNANCE FAQS
WHY CHOOSE ALBT FOR FUND GOVERNANCE?
With ALBT you’re not just getting the world’s top experts in fund governance, you’re also getting the best practices developed over 40 years and technology that enable them to add more value, save you time and frustration and protect fund stakeholder interests.
HOW IS INDEPENDENCE ASSURED?
An independent Director is free of conflicting loyalties that would adversely affect his or her professional judgment and ability to discharge fiduciary duties in an impartial, objective and unbiased manner.
WHAT FUND GOVERNANCE SERVICES DOES ALBT PROVIDE?
The principals of ALBT act as Independent Directors to Investment funds. Board Support services are also available. Funds that we serve on are supported by a team of fund governance professionals comprising a Director, an Associate Director and Associate, and other experts, each of whom has a high degree of fund literacy and specialized knowledge.
HOW MANY RELATIONSHIPS DOES ALBT MANAGE?
ALBT allocates resources to each client so that all client needs and expectations are well served. Before accepting new engagements, we evaluate each client’s needs in relation to our resources and we will accept an engagement only if we believe that we can fulfill our duties to the fullest.
HOW DOES ALBT DEFINE A RELATIONSHIP?
A relationship is with a fund sponsor. We are a regulatory compliant organization.
HOW OFTEN DOES THE BOARD MEET?
The board of directors of a regulated mutual fund in the Bahamas Islands (the “Fund”) should meet at least twice a year in person, by conference call or video conference to ensure quality fund governance on a continuing basis.
WHAT IS THE APPROPRIATE BOARD SIZE?
We recommend that the majority of the board be independent. Ultimately, the board should determine the appropriate size for itself, but in our experience smaller boards (two to three members) are more cohesive and function more effectively. ALBT can fill more than one independent Director position on the same board.
WHAT ARE THE KEYS TO AN EFFECTIVE BOARD COMPOSITION?
For effective board composition, we recommend that Directors be independent, possess hedge fund literacy and have diverse talents and backgrounds.
WHAT FEES DO YOU CHARGE?
Our fees vary based on the jurisdiction and the nature and extent of the duties and responsibilities in the fund documents.
DO YOU USE SERVICE AGREEMENTS?
In keeping with industry standards we normally enter into a Director’s Services Agreement however it depends on a case by case basis.
DO YOU REQUIRE DIRECTOR OR OFFICER INSURANCE?
In keeping with industry standards we normally request director & officers insurance at the fund level however it is considered on a case by case basis. Officer Insurance to serve on a board.
