26 Comments
Oct 17, 2022·edited Oct 17, 2022Liked by Frederik Gieschen

Definitely looking forward to the journey. Being completely honest with myself. Thankfully, I know that I'll be able to operate with an extremely low cost structure for the first few years. I'm not worried about my stock-picking abilities either. What I'm most worried about is attracting outside capital once I leave the incubator. This is what scares me.

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author

Best of luck, Michael!

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May 22, 2022·edited May 22, 2022Liked by Frederik Gieschen

Great article for emerging hedge fund managers. I realized that this business of managing money early was going to be hard when I was told by Chase Bank that they do not open checking accounts for investment companies. I have 3 business accounts with Chase, by the way. That singular encounter has framed my expectations of what to expect. You can't even market or advertise like a regular business. It's going to be hard, very hard.

I am reading books on how to develop mental toughness like a special forces soldier, consumer psychology, prospecting, sales and marketing.

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author

It's challenging indeed though I'm not sure why getting a checking account would be an issue. Becoming a good investor or trader is one thing, succeeding at building an investment business is another.

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Yeah, I was surprised myself. There was a Chase Bank internal block to the NAICS code

5259 Other Investment Pools and Funds

This industry group comprises legal entities (i.e., investment pools and/or funds) organized to pool securities or other assets (except insurance and employee benefit funds) on behalf of shareholders, unitholders, or beneficiaries.

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Not an expert but maybe there's a regulatory reason? Might be that you're talking to the wrong group/legal entity (ie. commercial bank vs. prime brokerage?).

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I have an account with interactive brokers

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Commercial bank, no bueno.

Just as an aside, I had the chance to speak to a rep at Cantor Fitzgerald and was told, the absolute minimum to get institutional funds is $25 million AUM. I always thought it was $100 MM.

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Apr 24, 2021Liked by Frederik Gieschen

Wonderful. Really appreciate you sharing your story and thoughts.

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Insightful note hugely useful for all budding money managers. If they focus solely on sharpening their craft business will follow but very few do that! Thanks for sharing.

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author

Thank you! Sharpening the craft is important. However, unless you plan on practicing it solely for yourself (manage your own money) you must remember the element of service to others and find a way to "inject" your work into the world.

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I'm surprised noone's mentioned "the e-myth revisited" https://www.blinkist.com/en/books/the-e-myth-revisited-en

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Here's a tip

Reverse engineer the web content of the large wealth management funds and create a blog without promoting your own fund. It will create thought leadership.

Michael Burry, M.D. suffers from Aspergers syndrome. He created a blog about undervalued stocks and made good predictions. Someone paid attention and later seeded his hedge fund.

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Great article. I appreciate you sharing these insights.

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author

Glad you liked it!

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priceless piece. im an emerging manager and had to learn many of the above lesson the hard way. i wish i had read and followed your blog before we launched, prob would have helped with many sleepless nights.

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author

Thank you for the kind words and I wish you the best of luck with everything!

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I am 30yo. Have been managing money of mine and family for 4 years and had a dream of managing for others but its been very tough to leave outside of inner circle. Really tough business to start. I think eventually i have to realize that i have to let it go and focus on my career

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Apr 18, 2021Liked by Frederik Gieschen

Thanks for the article. Really made me think about the trajectory i want to take forward

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author

Glad you liked it! I'm not here to shoot down dreams - or give false hope. It's hard, as is starting any business.

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Excellent insights and advice, applicable to any business or partnership. Thank you Neckar.

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author

Glad you enjoyed it! I agree, the lessons and mindset apply to many other situations.

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Excellent article, which struck close to home more than once! We should indeed spend more time objectively analyzing our own business models.

I think the point about understanding allocators perspective and incentives is the key.

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Glad you liked it. I agree - often the manager views the allocator as purely rational actor and forges that she is dealing with humans with their own agendas, constraints, and incentives.

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This was well though out , fantastic and articulate. As an allocator in my previous avatar I agree with all the points you make. As I embark on the emerging manager journey, I guess this is the time to ask myself all those questions that you listed and clear up the clutter around the primal question - craft or business?

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Thank you. And the best of luck for your journey!

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