RFG
THE REGULATORY FUNDAMENTALS GROUP LLC
RFG's 2020 Annual Survey Questions
Background Information
The information provided in this section will help us better interpret survey responses.
1. What is the AUM of all funds you advise?
Less than $1 billion
Between $1 billion and $3 billion
Between $3 billion and $5 billion
Over $5 billion
Use of Technology
2. Are you currently exploring or using machine learning or artificial intelligence for any investment office process?
No
Yes (please describe the process i.e. extracting cap statements, capital calls, scraping K1s, document or email management, content reviews/summaries, historical extraction of data from LPAs, etc., the vendor(s) used and how long you have been using each technology):
3. Do you use a template to extract data from your LPAs and separately managed account documentation?
Yes
No
4. If yes to question 3, who does the extraction:
Internal legal team
Outside counsel
Other (please describe):
5. If yes to question 3, is the extraction done at the same time as the initial legal review?
Yes
No
6. To your knowledge, does the primary outside law firm you use for initial legal reviews have a process to extract data from limited partnership agreements and/or separately managed accounts?
Yes
No
7. If yes to question 6, is that data made available to you?
Yes, for our deal data only
Yes, and it includes access to data from other investors
Other (please explain):
8. If yes to question 7, is there a special charge for the data being made available to you?
Yes
No
Side Letters
9. Do you have a standard form side letter request letter?
Yes
No
10. Do you have a checklist for side letter management?
Yes
No
Work From Home
11. Do you expect your back office staff to work from home for the remainder of the year?
Yes
No (please describe how and when you expect a return):
12. Do you expect your front office (trading/investment) staff to work from home for the remainder of the year?
Yes
No (please describe how and when you expect a return):
13. Going forward, when working from offices is permitted, do you plan to:
Have nearly 100% of the staff in the office
Primarily (80%) work remotely
Hybrid (please explain how schedule is being developed -- e.g. week on/week off):
14. When your staff returns to the office, are you planning to (please select all that apply):
Take temperatures daily
Have daily health survey done remotely (I.e. just prior to commute)
Have daily health survey done at the office door
Other (please explain):
15. Have you made any noteworthy business or compliance changes to address the fact that people are working from home?
16. What areas have provided ongoing challenges (please select all that apply):
Staff supervision
Staff training
New hires
Due diligence
Trading remotely
Completion of governmental forms
Other (please explain):
17. Any additional comments about ongoing work from home challenges?
Manager Surveys or Polls
18. Do you conduct periodic polls of existing managers?
No
Yes (please describe if these are done annually, quarterly, or on an ad hoc basis, and what technology may be used):
19. Are you planning to change your prior practice this year, and if so, how?
20. This year will you ask questions concerning the manager's policies with respect to (please select all that apply):
Business continuity
Compliance changes to reflect that people are working from home Cybersecurity in the work from home environment
Diversity and inclusion at the manager
Diversity and inclusion at controlled investments
Is there anything else you would like to share?
ODD Questions
21. Does your ODD professional or team (or COO, GC) have a "veto" vote for prospective investments?
Yes
No
Performance
22. Is performance as calculated by your custodian or investment office reconciled to manager reported performance?
Yes
No
23. If yes to question 22, is reconciliation a routine process or ad-hoc process?
Routine
Ad-hoc
24. If yes to question 22, who is responsible for doing the reconciliation?
Investment team
Operations
25. If yes to question 22, when differences are discovered, is investment performance restated?
Yes
No
26. If yes to question 25, is restated performance reporting provided to senior staff and/or the board?
Senior staff only
Board only
Both
Investment Committee Process
27. How many man days per quarter does it take to prepare for the investment committee?
28. How many employees are involved?
29. What does a typical package include?
30. Does a typical package include compliance information?
Yes
No
Miscellaneous Questions
31. Any other suggestions or comments?
32. Thank you for your participation. If you are not a member of the RFG consortium, please enter your email address here to receive a copy of the survey results: