Fund administration service provider Gemini Fund Services, LLC and boutique law firm Cole-Frieman Mallon & Hunt LLP have joined forces to launch Two Roads Shared Trust, a shared mutual fund trust, tailored to help hedge fund managers, who wish to start alternative mutual funds.
Funds will be able to join Two Roads, which will be overseen by an independent board of trustees, in the third quarter of 2012.
"The mutual fund industry continues to embrace alternative investment strategies during this volatile market, and we look forward to working with Cole-Frieman to help emerging advisers reap the benefits of implementing their own alternative strategies," said Andrew Rogers, president of Gemini in a statement.
"We are confident that we have found the right partner for executing this venture because Cole-Frieman has not only established an impressive footprint in the hedge fund sector, but its presence on the West Coast will help Gemini expand the geographic scope of our pooled investment services."
Two Roads, like Gemini's three Northern Lights Fund Trust pooled investment vehicles, will be composed of separately managed, independent funds. By joining Two Roads, funds receive fund sales, board and regulatory compliance oversight, operational efficiency and economies of scale that they would not otherwise be able to obtain by themselves. Two Roads membership also entitles funds to introductions to broker/dealers and assistance with their marketing and distribution plans.
"We are very excited to work with Gemini Fund Services to launch Two Roads Shared Trust," said Aisha Hunt, a partner who heads the alternative mutual fund practice at Cole-Frieman. "Very few mutual fund service providers are experienced in servicing hedge fund managers. Two Roads will leverage this combined expertise to provide hedge fund managers with a cost-effective solution for launching mutual funds that employ hedge fund strategies."
Karl Cole-Frieman, a partner at Cole-Frieman, stated that mutual fund shared trusts significantly lower the costs and barriers of entry to launch a mutual fund.
"The convergence of lower barriers of entry and historical demand for alternative mutual funds has created an unprecedented opportunity for hedge fund managers to raise assets through a shared trust," he said.
