Citi’s prime finance division has launched a business advisory practice, combining hedge fund industry research and thought leadership with consulting services.
The business advisory practice is designed to support hedge fund clients by partnering with them through all phases of their growth and maturity, from start-ups to institutional size funds.
“Through our work with a wide range of hedge funds, extensive industry research and Citi’s worldwide presence, Citi Prime Finance has generated significant intellectual capital, with deep operational and technological expertise,” says Alan Pace, head of Americas prime finance for Citi. “The business advisory practice, by partnering with hedge funds well beyond the one- to two year start-up period during which most prime brokers support their clients, provides insight and expertise to funds seeking growth in an increasingly complex business and regulatory environment.”
The business advisory team has developed a framework to understand the evolutionary lifecycle of a hedge fund – the hedge fund maturity model. Citi conducted more than 75 interviews with hedge funds over a three year period, documenting patterns of change in the business and identifying changing client needs.
The business advisory practice will offer a range of management and technology consulting, including start-up services, business management services, operational review assessments, technology infrastructure, and client-facing technology support. The practice will also provide industry analysis and reporting, publishing quarterly white papers on industry topics, sponsoring research and issuing a monthly viewpoint on key market trends and items of interest in the hedge fund arena.
“Institutionalised hedge funds, with assets under management of USD10bn or more, have very different needs from those of start-up funds with less than USD1bn in assets,” says Sandy Kaul, who will head the business advisory practice’s US operations. “Citi Prime Finance is well-suited to provide the mix of consulting services, industry insight and thought leadership that hedge funds need right now.”
