Primers
Primer: Handling LP Defaults
Historically, the incidence of “serious” defaults (“serious” meaning contribution failures that persist to a point in time at which consideration of enforcement action is necessary) in institutional venture capital funds is quite low. This article is being written half a year into the 2020 pandemic, during a time at which […]
Primer: U.S. Tax Considerations for Venture Capital Funds
We are frequently asked by our fund manager clients about what tax issues they should consider when forming a new venture capital fund or investing in portfolio companies. In this post, we outline a few key considerations for fund managers, highlighting changes included in the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act […]
Primer: Why Trademark Protection is Important for Venture Capital Firms
We’re a VC firm – we don’t sell consumer products – why do we need to care about trademarks? For any business, one’s good name is one of its most essential assets. That is especially true in venture capital, where, according to a 2004 study[1], firms with high reputations are […]
Primer: Selecting the Domicile for your Venture Capital Fund
We are often asked, by both new and established managers, “where should I form my next venture capital fund”? We will hold the short list for purposes of this article at the discussion of Delaware versus Cayman, those being far and away the most prominent places for venture capital funds […]
Primer: Management Fees in Venture Capital Funds
We are often asked about the “market” rate for management fees in actively managed venture capital funds. This primer discusses mainstream venture capital funds, so to speak. If your fund is in the venture space but has special attributes (such as being a secondaries fund, a very small micro-fund, a […]
Primer: LP Governance Rights in Venture Capital Funds
Venture capital funds are closed-ended, long duration blind pools. In the many years following closing, the fund manager is permitted to operate and invest the fund in its discretion as long as it stays within some limited guidelines codified at inception in the partnership agreement. But, what happens if circumstances […]
Primer: Carried Interest in Venture Capital Funds
We are often asked about the prevalent market options for structuring carried interest provisions in venture capital funds. In this post, we’ll speak of mainstream venture capital funds, so to speak. Terms differ in special situations, like co-investment funds, top-up funds, funds that are wholly or partially funds-of-funds, and so […]
A Primer on “Freedom of Information Act” (FOIA) Issues for VC Fund Managers
In the United States, at both the federal and state level, investors that are public agencies (such as state and local government employee pension funds, public university endowments, etc.) are usually subject to rights of members of the public to request information about their activities by way of a “freedom […]