{"id":91057,"date":"2025-11-04T00:13:00","date_gmt":"2025-11-04T05:13:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.hedgeco.net\/news\/?p=91057"},"modified":"2025-11-04T06:46:19","modified_gmt":"2025-11-04T11:46:19","slug":"structure-shift-separately-managed-accounts-smas-and-fee-trends-dominate","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/11\/2025\/structure-shift-separately-managed-accounts-smas-and-fee-trends-dominate.html","title":{"rendered":"Structure Shift: Separately Managed Accounts (SMAs) and Fee Trends Dominate"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/06\/HF-Overview-3.jpg\" alt=\"https:\/\/www.interactivebrokers.com\/campus\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/2\/2023\/06\/HF-Overview-3.jpg\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<p>(HedgeCo.Net) A major structural transition in the hedge-fund ecosystem is the growing prominence of\u00a0<strong>separately managed accounts (SMAs)<\/strong>\u00a0and evolving fee dynamics. Research and industry commentary show that SMAs are increasingly favoured by investors seeking transparency, customization and control.\u00a0<a rel=\"noreferrer noopener\" href=\"https:\/\/www.dechert.com\/content\/dechert\/en\/knowledge\/publication\/2025\/10\/the-growth-of-hedge-fund-managed-accounts.html?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\">Dechert+1<\/a><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">What Are SMAs?<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>SMAs are investment accounts where the investor holds their own account rather than participating in a pooled fund. In the hedge context, they allow investors to:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>Monitor holdings and exposures directly<\/li><li>Negotiate fee and liquidity terms<\/li><li>Customize constraints (ESG, tax, risk limits)<br>This trend reflects investor demand for more tailored access rather than generic pooled structures.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Fee\/Structure Developments<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Another related shift: allocator pressure on fee models. From a recent \u201cFour allocator demands\u201d piece:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>New relationships are more important than ever.<\/li><li>We may have passed \u201cpeak fee compression\u201d but the pressure remains.<\/li><li>Operational alpha (i.e., manager\u2019s operational infrastructure, platform, risk management) is now critical.<\/li><li>Scaling remains a structural challenge for many managers.&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.hedgeweek.com\/four-allocator-demands-from-hedge-funds-that-defined-2025-allocations\/?utm_source=chatgpt.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\">hedgeweek.com<\/a><\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Implications<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li><strong>Managers must adapt<\/strong>: Offering vintage access (SMAs), co-investment rights, customized terms and transparent operational practises will matter.<\/li><li><strong>Cost structure matters<\/strong>: Fee models are evolving\u2014investors pushing for lower management fees, hurdle rates, performance-fee alignment and more favourable liquidity.<\/li><li><strong>Differentiation through operations<\/strong>: As investment strategies mature, operational excellence (risk, infrastructure, service) becomes a differentiator.<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Key takeaway<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The hedge-fund industry is not only about returns any more \u2014 how you structure access and align with investors counts just as much. Customization (via SMAs) and fee\/operational discipline are becoming front-of-mind. For managers and allocators alike, staying ahead of this trend matters.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>(HedgeCo.Net) A major structural transition in the hedge-fund ecosystem is the growing prominence of\u00a0separately managed accounts (SMAs)\u00a0and evolving fee dynamics. Research and industry commentary show that SMAs are increasingly favoured by investors seeking transparency, customization and control.\u00a0Dechert+1 What Are SMAs? [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":9,"featured_media":91066,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[16042,16044,3,16048],"tags":[16304],"class_list":["post-91057","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-hedge-fund-performance-2","category-hedge-fund-strategies-2","category-hedgeco-news","category-hedgecovest-news","tag-separately-managed-accounts"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91057","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/9"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=91057"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91057\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":91058,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/91057\/revisions\/91058"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/91066"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=91057"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=91057"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/hedgeco.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=91057"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}