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Advice for Brokers Selling CTAs

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NIBA
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1 min

1. Don’t sell anything, ever, that doesn’t have an audited Track Record. If you are selling unaudited investment managers, you are selling fantasy.

2. Don’t sell anything you don’t understand. That’s how people got involved with Madoff.

3. Don’t sell anything you don’t own. Have your lawyer check your contract with your CTA. If it isn’t bullet proof, if you aren’t 100% certain of getting paid, then expect to get cheated.

4. Own the costs and benefits you add to your investment managers. You are adding cost. So, you need to find ways to add value. For example, if you have the negotiating strength, press your investment managers to lower their fees.

By Fred Gehm

fredgehm@tds.net

Fred Gehm is an investment consultant, a former columnist forMARHedge, and the author of the forthcoming book, Trust is Not an Option: The Practical Paranoid’s Guide to Evaluating and Selecting Investment Managers. You can contact him at (847) 236-0146


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