How Fund Managers Can Prevent or Remedy Improper Fee and Expense Allocations (Part Three of Three)

In recent years, the SEC has targeted perceived fee and expense improprieties by private fund managers, with each enforcement action causing managers to fortify their internal practices in an attempt to avoid similar regulatory scrutiny. This increased SEC focus has also caused managers to proactively remedy improper fee or expense allocations revealed by their newly enhanced policies and procedures. This final article in our three-part series provides practical guidance about preventative measures fund managers can take to ensure fees and expenses are properly allocated, as well as post-violation efforts they can perform to remedy any improper allocations. Taken together, these can help managers ensure their procedures meet industry standards and may mitigate the severity of any future SEC sanctions. The first article in this series detailed trends in the types of expense allocations most aggressively scrutinized by the SEC. The second article in the series examined the role of inadequate disclosure and failed policies and procedures in causing expense allocation violations and provided steps managers can take to buttress each of those areas. For more on expense allocations, see “Fees, Conflicts, Investment Allocations and Other Hot Topics Hedge Fund Managers Should Expect During an SEC Examination (Part Two of Two)” (Jun. 30, 2016); and our two-part series entitled “How Should Hedge Fund Managers Approach the Allocation of Expenses Among Their Firms and Their Funds?”: Part One (May 2, 2013); and Part Two (May 9, 2013).

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