Primers
Primer: Deploying Private Fund Capital Globally in Complex Regulatory Times
We are often asked how a private equity or venture capital fund should be structured if it expects to raise capital globally and invest across multiple countries. Historically, that question was often framed primarily as a tax, securities law, domicile or investor preference question. Should the fund be Delaware or […]
Primer: Structuring the General Partner and Management Company for a Private Equity or Venture Capital Fund
We are often asked by new and emerging managers about the fund itself: where to form it, what the management fee should be, how carried interest should work, what rights investors should receive, and what the partnership agreement should say. Those are important questions. But they are not the only […]
Primer: Carried Interest in Private Equity and Venture Capital Funds
We are often asked about the prevalent market options for structuring carried interest provisions in private equity and venture capital funds. In this post, we’ll speak of mainstream private equity and venture capital funds, so to speak. Terms differ in special situations, like co-investment funds, continuation funds, top-up funds, funds […]
Primer: Selecting the Domicile for Your Private Equity or Venture Capital Fund
We are often asked, by both new and established managers of private equity and venture capital funds, “Where should I form my next fund?” The answer is, in many cases, Delaware or the Cayman Islands. For managers seeking reputable institutional capital across the United States, Europe, Asia, Latin America, the […]
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: 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 […]