System failure rate

I would add now days you pretty much need CFA designation with a 3 yr firm track record or 5yr self track record before any institution will respond to your inquiries.

Then only other option is be your own RIA and manage friends’s and family money until you build large enough book or get buy out by a botique firm.

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Having been on the side of an institutional manager I can say a CFA Charter (I also am a charterholder) doesn’t really matter so long as the track record and level of assets is high enough & the process is legitimate. Quality back office operations and compliance don’t hurt either. If it’s a one man show - much more difficult to get any kind of institutional assets.

Friends and Family is a good place to start, but only after you’ve run your own money for a while and the strategy works like you believe it should. C2 is great for getting some leverage while you are doing that.

Right on. For institutions, small programs are typically a piece of a large pie, offering a specific purpose for diversification, e.g. negative correlations with S&P/bonds, crisis alpha, risk parity, short exposures, special events, algorithmic systems…
The main pie is still largely long only stock picking because that’s what most financial professionals understand. Most of these middlemen/consultants are career professionals with nothing to gain for picking a small winner but a job to lose if they recommend a small shop that fails. Hence the conservatism. So yes small traders have to compete fiercely for the crumbs.
Running a C2 program makes good business sense. If you take care of subscribers, there can be a relatively stable income to pay bills (professional registration, networking events…) and take the stress off while you gather asset. No one is going to retire off C2 but a good businessman should not ignore small/steady revenue streams in case you need them.
Cheers!

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