Governance and Operating Capability
Governance problems at emerging managers are usually operational in origin. A valuation process that was never properly documented. Investor reporting that will not survive an operational due diligence review. A service provider relationship that nobody is actively supervising. A board can identify these weaknesses; correcting them requires people who have actually built and run fund operations.
Mount Sage provides both. Our directorship practice brings the board oversight; our operations practice brings the capability to build and run the infrastructure underneath it. This work is led by a chartered accountant with more than 25 years of industry experience and over 15 years in operations consulting, across the United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, Luxembourg, Malta, Dubai, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
What We Provide
Financial governance, board reporting, cash management, operating model structuring and performance oversight for the fund operator — before and throughout the life of the fund.
Review of PPM, LPA and other legal documents from a legal, investor and operational perspective; assistance with entity structuring; engagement with the regulator through the launch phase.
Valuation framework design and oversight, development of a shadow NAV capability, and preparation of a valuation policy that will withstand auditor and investor scrutiny.
Pitchbook and fund model preparation, DDQ drafting and continual updating, and preparation for the rigours of institutional operational due diligence.
Drafting of GP policies and procedures, including the valuation policy and compliance manual, and the controls framework that supports them.
Screening and selection of administrators, auditors, prime brokers and custodians, and ongoing management of those relationships.
Management accounts for the fund and GP, budgeting and cost monitoring, cashflow, financial planning and analysis, and institutional reporting frameworks.
Management of the annual audit of both the fund and the GP, including preparation and coordination with auditors.
Acting as the full operations function for smaller managers — institutional-grade infrastructure without permanent headcount.
When Managers Engage Us
Most engagements begin at an inflection point: fund set-up and launch, a new investment strategy, rapid growth in assets under management, an operational incident or a period of investor scrutiny, a change in service providers, or organisational change. The common thread is that finance and operations have become a constraint on performance, visibility or scalability — or that the management team lacks senior finance and operations leadership and cannot yet justify a full-time hire.
Frequently Asked Questions
Yes. We provide fractional CFO and COO support to private equity firms, hedge funds and alternative investment managers — covering financial governance, board reporting, cash management, operating model structuring, valuation governance and investor reporting.
The United Kingdom, Ireland, the Channel Islands, Luxembourg, Malta, Dubai, the Cayman Islands and the British Virgin Islands.
Often, but not automatically. Where we hold an independent director appointment we assess whether also providing operational services to the same entity would compromise the independence of that board seat, and we will decline the combination where it would. Frequently the better arrangement is operations support to the manager alongside an independent directorship at the fund, or vice versa. We are glad to discuss the appropriate structure. See our directorship services.
They are distinct. Operations support is delivered where the manager needs it and is not, of itself, a BVI substance solution. Our BVI economic substance services — resident directors, BVI board meetings, local records and premises — address substance separately.
Sjoerd Koster — Managing Director
sjoerd.koster@mountsageadvisors.com
+1 (284) 346 7769
Christian Thompson — Managing Director
christian@mountsageadvisors.com
+1 (284) 342 5300
200 Waterfront Drive, Unit 7A, Road Town, Tortola VG1110, British Virgin Islands
This page is provided for general information only and does not constitute legal, tax, regulatory or investment advice. Mount Sage Directors Ltd holds a Restricted Class III Licence issued by the BVI Financial Services Commission.