OUR APPROACH
Experience
Marbury brings a unique offering to the industry due to the depth of our expertise and the diversity of our collective experience across key segments of the alternative investments industry. Our team is comprised of professionals each with over 20 years’ experience in the offshore financial services industry in key areas such as audit, financial control, investment management, law and fiduciary services.
Our experience is kept current through our focus on the issues impacting the industry through membership of professional bodies – our professionals are members of, amongst others, the Cayman Islands Directors’ Association, the Institute of Chartered Governance Institute, the Society of Trust and Estate Practitioners, the Law Society of England and Wales, the Cayman Islands Society of Professional Accountants and the Institute of Chartered Accountants of England and Wales. We are well-represented on bodies which are actively engaged in framing the industry in Cayman including at board level of the Alternative Investment Management Association (AIMA) in Cayman.
We actively collaborate and share our knowledge and experience to enable us to approach with success the complexity and dynamic nature of the industry within which we operate.
Our approach as Fiduciaries
Marbury has come together to develop a common purpose to maintain the highest standards of business conduct, integrity and ethical behavior. Our existing portfolio of fund appointments, represented by some of the hedge fund industry’s best known managers and a wide diversity of strategies, is a reflection of our pursuit of that goal over the longer term. Indeed, obligations to our existing relationships demand that we maintain such standards. This requires Marbury to be selective and restrained in our selection process.
We recognise that an individual has limited capacity to assume personal appointments and accordingly we are committed to regulating our number of relationships to allow us to engage in substantive and meaningful oversight – particularly during challenging times – and the provision of due attention to our role as fiduciary without the need to delegate any functions to juniors.
As an owner-managed business, we are independent of a fund’s key service providers including the investment manager, prime broker, administrator, lawyer and auditor. We make decisions independently of each other, whether or not more than one of us is appointed to the board of the same fund.
Our approach to board composition
As our industry has matured, stakeholders now seek a balanced skill set among board members as their ideal board composition. The existence of complementary skills within Marbury is such that we can provide that balance by providing more than one director to serve; however we are equally comfortable working with other independent fiduciaries with a similar approach to governance. Not only our own actions but those with whom we associate are subject to scrutiny. We have strong relationships with our peers in Cayman and in other jurisdictions and will willingly offer suggestions and advice based on our experience not just in terms of board composition but also with respect to instituting strong policies and procedures for corporate governance going forward.
Our relationship with Managers and Investors
Managers who work with Marbury value our active engagement and collaboration with them, underscored by the recognition that the manager is not our client – our duties are owed to the fund and its investors – and the corresponding scrutiny that this entails both of their own actions and performance and also the service delivery of the other key providers. These managers welcome our input and appreciate the role that our fiduciaries play in enhancing a fund’s corporate governance structure for the benefit of investors.
Marbury’s approach provides fund investors with comfort that there is an experienced, knowledgeable team at the helm, allowing the investment manager to focus its resources on the job of managing the portfolio, confident that the best industry practices are employed by the fund board.
Availability
Our appointments are personal to us, demanding much of our time and attention. We personally will be available to fulfill our responsibilities as fiduciaries.
We have adopted the latest IT using cloud technology and can operate from any location, thus ensuring continued personal attention wherever we may be.
Other Fiduciary Roles
Although most commonly our appointments comprise members of the board of directors of Cayman Islands corporate hedge funds, we will also consider certain other fiduciary appointments including membership of the board of directors of the general partner of an exempted limited partnership, membership of an advisory board or committee of an exempted limited partnership, and appointments to the board of directors of management companies as well as similar appointments to the governing bodies of entities established in other jurisdictions.