Hi All, I have been a successful trader for a few years and am about to move offshore (for both lifestyle and tax reasons). Since I have been trading a number of people have asked me about managing money for them. I would now like to set something up but I am wondering what my best option is. This would be starting very small (about $1mm of friends and family money). What are my options? I am really just interested in keeping costs down and providing my friends and family some option to invest with me. I want the fund to be setup offshore (all my investors will be non-US residents). Any advice? Any ballpark on what setup costs will be an annual upkeep costs? Will admin become daunting for a one-man operation? Thanks very much.
Most third world countries have and relatively easy and cheap registration process. First and second world countries have a very complicated registering process, some even more than the US. So check your local laws, maybe registering is easier than you think. Then you need your clients to sign a contract, so you will not be held responsible for ANYTHING. Usually the contract form is also registered.
If all of your clients will be non-US you dont need to register with the SEC at all. Just open an corporate account with your broker using your -registered- company name.
Be sure that the country you're located in doesn't have an extradition treaty with the country where your investors are from.
80% of the world's hedge funds are registered in the Cayman Islands... So look no further. Get a Cayman based accounting or law firm to set up a turnkey fund for you. http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&q="hedge+fund"+"cayman+islands"+register&btnG=Google+Search