Is the fund active?

No, the fund is at $0 AUM, and there are no plans for a private capital raise at this time. It is an incorporated LLC with no investment activity of client funds.

What is the fund’s legal structure (LP/LLC) and where is it domiciled? 

Bulick Capital LLC, also known as Bulick Capital, is a private fund partnership domiciled in Stamford, Connecticut.

Bulick Capital Advisors LLC, also known as Bulick Capital Advisors, is the fund's sponsor and Investment Adviser.

What is the minimum investment?

The minimum subscription to receive membership interest in the fund is $100 thousand USD for verified accredited investors only. 

Absolute vs. Total Return strategy?

The investment strategy comprises both methodologies, and the main objective is Total Return.

Here is a brief intro by Fidelity International (2024). 

What is your core investment strategy?

We specialize in medium term total return; we implement an active strategy focusing on developed economies, public fixed income, and value equity, always with a long bias and some market neutrality. Bulick Capital will implement prudent use of leverage based on market conditions and conviction though proprietary research.

Advanced hedging techniques may be employed for interest rate and credit exposure based on market conditions to achieve absolute returns (market neutrality) and provide liquidity for fund redemptions. We plan to venture further internationally over time and will evaluate FX hedging then. 

I hear the terms discretionary and systematic investing. Which one is Bulick Capital?

These active strategies need not be mutually exclusive. While we lean on some quant research, Bulick Capital Advisors is better known for using discretionary active investment management. We seek to obtain relatively concentrated positions while balancing risk.

Here is a good introduction on the trade offs by AQR Capital Management (2017).

What are the subscription and redemption terms?

Accredited investors are expected to include this offering as part of their broader wealth strategy with medium term (5 to 10 year) risk exposure. Bulick Capital is a specialized private fund with a minimum horizon of two years to help provide superior risk-adjusted returns.

Bulick Capital is an open-end private fund. Redemption is allowed quarterly subject to a lock up period and fund gates. On the liquidity spectrum, Bulick Capital is less liquid than an ETF or mutual fund, and greater than a private equity fund.  

What are the management and performance fees?

Total fees are most likely between 1 to 2 percent. Never less than 1% to help guarantee fund operations and closer to, maybe greater than, 2% only during years of success from incentive aligned performance fees. For accredited investors, please see the Term Sheet and "Offering Documents" (PPM and Subscription Agreement). 

What is the estimated burden on the investor?

We expect a few days upfront for investor onboarding, legal, and due diligence depending on investor comfort with alternative investments. Continuous monitoring is up to the individual based on interest and capital at risk. We recommend at least a few hours quarterly to stay up to date on the fund and to ensure management commentary aligns with investor risk tolerance. At least one month before individual taxes are due to the IRS, we will provide members Schedule K-1 to incorporate in their returns. 

All things considered, we believe the potential opportunity to participate in achieving superior risk-adjusted returns ("alpha") can outweigh the additional burden to accredited investors. Certainly, public market options in the USA are becoming increasingly concentrated and leading to increased potential for the "Diworsification" trend coined by Fidelity's Peter Lynch. Our private fund and active management may be opportunities to avoid this potential underperformance.

Here are introductions on the diversification tradeoffs for advanced investors and those interested:

1. Quant Investment Management (2015)

2. CFA Institute Blog (2013)

Do you use leverage?

Yes, Bulick Capital will implement prudent use of leverage dynamically based on market conditions with a risk limit of 2x net and 3x gross leverage.

This is more conservative than our peer group for larger hedge funds. See public data on SEC Form PF for large funds. Credit and Equity are the most comparable strategies to Bulick Capital.

Peer group examples with AUM > $150M reporting on SEC Form PF: 

Gross leverage ratio by strategy 

• Credit strategy gross ratio

• Equity strategy gross ratio

Net Leverage ratio by strategy

• Credit strategy net ratio

• Equity strategy net ratio

What is your competitive advantage?

We believe our partnership offers investors superior value, with value recognized as we approach the recommended minimum strategy horizon of 5 years. The risk exposure is chosen to increase risk-adjusted returns taking into consideration manager expertise, fund size, and operational costs. We do not believe small funds will be able to offer similar repeatable value.

Less regulation and capital compared to larger funds means we have the ability to adapt to changing market conditions. 

Seeking total return and partial market neutrality means we plan to increase chances of operating through the market cycle - during good and bad markets (which are becoming increasingly volatile), and offer value while doing so. Achieving neutrality may offer the investor diversification benefits from a portfolio management perspective.

What experience does the portfolio manager have?

Jeff Bulick has 6 years of industry experience in FinTech consulting for public market investment operations, and a strong track record navigating markets in personal wealth and portfolio management since 2018. Personal track record performance is available on request.

Jeff has completed the Series 65 and Financial Risk Manager (FRM) program, and is in progress on the CFA certification.

Jeff's academia leans towards quant / systematic strategies including but not limited to a MS in Financial Engineering, a BS in Computer Engineering, and a minor in Economics.

Which governing bodies regulate fund operations? 

Bulick Capital Advisors ("the Manager"), a private fund adviser generally has broad discretion to make investment decisions on behalf of the fund, making all investment decisions in accordance with the fund’s investment strategy, and has a fiduciary duty to the fund. The Manager will follow all investment adviser laws and regulations. While oversight responsibility is with Connecticut, a limited version of Form ADV will be available to the SEC and CT.

The Manager is registered as an exempt reporting adviser (ERA) with the SEC and applicable state securities regulators, the CT Department of Banking - Securities and Business Investments Division.

Bulick Capital ("the Fund") will follow all securities laws and submit Form D notice filings for an exempt offering to the SEC and applicable state securities regulators. 

Participating agencies include and are not limited to the SEC, NASAA, FINRA, CT Securities and Business Investment Division, NJ Bureau of Securities (future date), NY Division of Economic Justice (Investor Protection Bureau) (future date). 

Is the fund regulated as an investment company under federal securities law?

No, Bulick Capital is a private fund that qualifies for the traditional 3(c)(1) exemption from the Investment Company Act of 1940. Thus, according to the SEC, we are not an "investment company".

What happens if the portfolio manager is unable to manage the fund?

In the unforeseen circumstance, fund operations cease, e.g. due to managing member serious illness or death, then positions will be liquidated and the LLC dissolved. This in itself, should not constitute serious loss unless this event overlaps with a drawdown under stressed market conditions. Drawdown mitigation is part of the fund risk management strategy, and addition of a future employee, who may continue operations, will be evaluated around fund NAV $30 million. A formal Business Continuity Plan (BCP) will be developed shortly.

How often do you provide reports to investors?

Bulick Capital provides quarterly performance reporting and management commentary to accredited investors that own membership interest in the fund. 

Are you audited annually?

No, we are not required by Connecticut law, and will not hire an independent registered accounting firm to audit the balance sheet. 

However, Bulick Capital Advisors believes this audit is worthwhile for all parties, and cost-benefit analysis of this service is expected in the near future. Performance reporting is not audited.

Bulick Capital will hire an independent tax accountant for annual filings.

Do you have third-party fund administration?

No, all fund operations are performed by the managing member and Bulick Capital Advisors. Outsourcing administration may be evaluated in the future.

Bulick Capital will hire an independent tax accountant for annual filings.

What cybersecurity protections do you use?

Info movement is not a large risk since there is one member for firm operations. For storage, all investor KYC and proprietary strategy info will exist password protected with MFA on the most trusted cloud providers such as Google or Microsoft. Sensitive data may also exist on a physical firm computer which employs best practices and anti-virus software to mitigate threats.