Tokens of Wisdom Dave Rothschild

Big news today (June 5) as the 5th circuit court of appeals VACATED the SEC’s private fund adviser rule!! Go back and listen to Episode 21 if you want to waste your time hearing all the details of this now-defunct rule. Special Note: you may notice while listening to today’s episode that I mistakenly refer listeners to Episode 29 for my full PFAR breakdown (I refer to “Episode 29” several times). Turns out, I’m even worse at math than I thought, because my PFAR episode is # 21; not 29…Ra...

Today’s episode is all about the government’s attempts to jam the square peg of crypto mixers Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet into the round hole of unlicensed “money transmitters”.But to grasp the full story, we need to understand some basic terms. Like “money transmitter”.Key Points From This Episode:What are (were?) Tornado Cash and Samourai Wallet?What is a “money transmitter”?The regulatory area where crypto guidance from the federal government has been relatively clear and proactive.Wh...

Last episode we dissected the SEC’s “venture capital fund” definition and discussed how, if an adviser manages only VC funds, there is no AUM ceiling on its ability to remain exempt from registration. If that same adviser manages money for any non-Venture capital fund, it has to register as an investment adviser once AUM hits $150mm. This can lead some less scrupulous investment advisers to try to “game” the system by forming new adviser entities, thinking they can skirt regulation by forming...

Like I mentioned back in Episode 2, there are some down sides to relying on the private fund exemption – at the SEC level, the only “down” side is an AUM ceiling after which you have register (150mm…see ep 32). But many states require extra stuff if you’re managing any 3c1 funds: this varies by state, but many impose annual audit requirements and either increased investor accreditation thresholds, restrictions on who can pay performance-based comp, or both. EXCEPT those restrictions don’t app...

One of the underappreciated tasks a new fund manager needs to complete is its management company operating agreement. This is the agreement among the principals of the management company that controls how the entity is governed, how economics are split among the principals, etc.Key Points From This Episode:Why is it important to paper these agreements?Why they sometimes get put on the back burner.Brief discussion of the four primary areas to consider:Economics;Corporate governance;Exit provis...

Recently, it seems like tokenizing things is all the rage. Everybody wants to talk about tokenizing real estate or art or securities or any other “real world asset”. Heck, even “RWA” has become a commonly understood acronym to describe things that exist in tangible form, as opposed to just digitally. Well, private investment funds are no different, and I’ve noticed an uptick recently in managers inquiring about tokenizing their fund offerings. Today’s episode is all about tokenized funds.Key ...