Economics FAQs

  • Seeding fund managers with operational capital (GP stakes) involves you issuing a non-dilutive convertible loan note (CLN) in return for investor capital. These notes will have a 3 year term, a serviced coupon & a conversion discount. LP seeding is carried out at most favoured nation terms where we require the fees paid on the allocation to be at, or better than, any other fee offered to any other investor. Please bear in mind that for efficiency, speed and scalablity we use templated documents that are non-negotiable.

  • We work with emerging fund managers in both private & public markets and across all asset classes.

  • Emerging fund institutional investors, fund of fund investors, emerging manager programmes & membership organisations

  • 7-8 figure seed (LP) & (GP balance sheet) commitments to graduates of our programmes

  • At the time of writing there are one-off participation fees starting from GBP20k to GBP35k depending upon the route chosen. Please note that we will be increasing the fees at the end of 2025. There are no other fees or charges payable to Aucta throughout the programme. Do bear in mind that you may wish to access our co-host/mentor services which are chargeable. Please also note that any related travel & associated costs are not included.

  • We issue them as soon as practicable after graduation at the end of the programme.

  • Assuming we graduate you, We issue a term sheet, We attach dates to the term sheet (GP and LP related) We negotiate terms with you. We receive a signed term sheet from you

    We organise and manage draft paperwork for the GP commit (CLN document) We negotiate terms with you. We mutually sign and complete by the closing date/ Please note that it can often take 6-20 weeks to close a deal.

  • We use templated convertible loan note agreements for all GP commits. Loans are made on a serviced coupon basis, 3 years in duration with a 20% discount to prevailing valuation upon conversion. There are early repayment options with appropriate penalties attached. LP commitments are always made at most favoured nation terms sometimes with a revenue share component depending upon whether or not we have a GP exposure to your firm also.

  • We have established a co-investment entity in the prestigious & well regulated financial centre called Abu Dhabi Global Market (ADGM) which operates in English common law. It is called Qahwa Holdings. You can search the public register for further details at www.adgm.com

  • We curate a syndicate of professional and institutional investors from around the world. They are all experts in asset management and have wide & deep knowledge of the early stage boutique fund manager community

  • Emerging fund institutional investors, fund of fund investors, emerging manager programmes & membership organisations

Why do you charge a participation fee to join a programme?

Experience tells us that consistent commitment levels are much higher across the full programme phase when a firm has paid a fee

We do expect firms seeking the realistic prospect of 7-8 figure commitments from us to join us in placing some risk on the table at the outset

We receive literally thousands of applications to join our programme, a small fee to join helps us to figure out who is serious and who is not

We have invested considerable sums in constructing weeks of programme content allied to world class mentors that is bespoke to early stage fund managers - we are told frequently that no other programme like this exists globally.

Can you cut me a deal to join a cohort?

So that each cohort is a level playing field for all members, everyone signs the same contract and pays the same fee for the programme they have chosen.

How much should I invest in my new firm from my personal savings?

Most importantly we want to see that you can cover your household expenses for the period until your firm has revenue and profitability. Bear in mind this might be measured in years. Next, we want to see a founder committing some hard cash to their venture, even if modest, to start to cover set-up and operational costs. Finally, we expect to see founder friends & family commitments made at operating and/or fund level. It would unrealistic to expect that a financier would wish to take all the risk of a start-up/early stage firm if a founder has no cash exposure to his venture.

If I receive a GP/Operating company commitment can I use some of it to pay myself?

Please refer to the prior question as context: The primary purpose of funding an operating company is to enable a wide range of services & talent to be acquired to kick-start and accelerate the ability of the firm to compete for AUM. We do not expect to see a founder/founder team taking compensation out of the balance sheet whilst a firm is pre-revenue and pre-profitability. Where a founder makes an exceptional case for some compensation, we adopt globally recognised VC/PE guidelines as to the level of regular payment with a hard cap of $125k per annum and a deep package of milestones to justify that draw.

In my last role before establishing this firm, I earned 6-8 figures, is it reasonable to expect my new firm to pay me this?

In over 90% of cases, founders will not be in a position to draw compensation anywhere close to the levels they previously earned in an employed setting for some years. We expect founders to be motivated by their equity ownership and carry potential and not by ongoing compensation.