As part of its ‘best practices’ mandate, the Alternative Investment Management Association (“AIMA”) Cayman is launching a seminar series to look at the key elements of an investment fund from a director’s perspective; including administration, audits, legal issues, and regulation. Independent directors perform vital and multi-faceted functions as hedge fund service providers, requiring that they stay current on the issues facing funds. The final session in the series will feature two significant fiduciary investors in Cayman funds who will outline their expectations of independent directors from a user’s point of view.

AIMA Cayman’s Education Committee chair Gary Linford explains the reasoning behind the development of the series. “The independent director industry in Cayman is thriving because of the high-calibre pool of talent that exists here. It is one of AIMA’s key deliverables to facilitate knowledge sharing and best practices amongst industry participants. Initiatives such as this raise the bar in Cayman’s service provision as a whole, which is good for business and for the maintenance of Cayman position as a leading funds domicile.”

This first session, which will cover “Fund Administration” ,will be chaired by John Lewis, president of the Cayman Islands Fund Administrators Association and will cover such topics as: key issues to identify when reviewing a fund administration agreement; SAS 70 - how important is it as a means to assess controls and procedures of fund administrators; CIMA’s new Guidance Note on AML for funds and consideration of appointment of a C.O. and MLRO; valuation issues – pricing policy and board approvals; representation letters in relation to the audit – what comfort can directors obtain from the administrator?; segregation and control of assets; fund administration reports to the board – issues that should be covered; Strategic Turnaround vs. Matador Investments - a new look at the redemption processes; and standing instructions with after-the-fact reporting.

The first seminar will be held Thursday, 12 November at the Grand Cayman Beach Suites conference room at 4:00 pm with a cocktail reception to follow. AIMA members are admitted free of charge and the fee for future members is $75 or $300 for all five sessions.

Space is limited, so be sure to book your seat in advance by emailing Abbie McMillan at amcmillan@bcsl.ky.

For more information on AIMA or to become a member, go to www.aima.org.

AIMA, the Alternative Investment Management Association, has over 1,280 corporate members worldwide, based in 47 countries. Members include leading hedge fund managers, fund of hedge funds managers, prime brokers, legal and accounting services and fund administrators. They all benefit from AIMA’s active influence in policy development, its leadership in industry initiatives, including education and sound practice manuals and its excellent reputation with regulators, worldwide.

AIMA is a dynamic organisation that reflects its membership’s interests and provides them with a vibrant global network. AIMA is committed to developing industry skills and education standards and is a co-founder of the Chartered Alternative Investment Analyst designation (CAIA) – the industry’s first and only specialised educational standard for alternative investment specialists. For further information, please visit AIMA’s website at www.aima.org.