Structuring, Regulatory and Tax Guidance for Asia-Based Hedge Fund Managers Seeking to Raise Capital from U.S. Investors (Part One of Two)

U.S. hedge fund investors are continuously seeking attractive investment opportunities and are increasingly expanding their search to incorporate Asia-based hedge fund managers.  At the same time, Asia-based hedge fund managers are navigating the challenging capital raising environment by reaching beyond their borders to attract U.S. investors.  However, Asia-based fund managers seeking to attract capital from U.S. investors must contend with a plethora of U.S. and foreign regulations in raising and managing such capital.  As such, Asia-based fund managers must work closely with U.S., Cayman and local counsel to develop a cohesive and carefully thought out fund and management structure, intertwining the various regulatory requirements of the applicable jurisdictions, all of which must be adhered to by the fund manager, any sub-advisers and their respective affiliates.  This is the first in a two-part series of guest articles designed to help Asia-based fund managers navigate the challenges of structuring and operating funds to appeal to U.S. fund investors.  The authors of this article series are: Peter Bilfield, a partner at Shipman & Goodwin LLP; Todd Doyle, senior tax associate at Shipman & Goodwin LLP; Michael Padarin, a partner at Walkers; and Lu Yueh Leong, a partner at Rajah & Tann LLP.  This first article describes the preferred Cayman hedge fund structures utilized by Asia-based fund managers, the management entity structures, Cayman Islands regulations of hedge funds and their managers and regulatory considerations for Singapore-based hedge fund managers.  The second article in the series will detail a number of the key U.S. tax, regulatory and other considerations that Asia-based fund managers should consider when soliciting U.S. taxable and U.S. tax-exempt investors.

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