RESEARCH RANKINGS
employees worldwide, including 15,000 in its asset management business, which includes
hedge funds. Global revenue
for its most recent year was
$28.7 billion, third among the
Big Four. Jaros, who has been
an EY partner since 2006,
shares the title of hedge fund
co-leader with Michael Serota.
Grant Thornton enjoys one
of the biggest jumps in the Alpha Awards ratings, climbing
to No. 4 from eighth place last
year. Though it is considered a
midsize firm, it is much larger
and more of a global player
than either EisnerAmper is or
Rothstein Kass was.
Grant Thornton had global
revenue last year of about
$4.7 billion and total employment of 40,000, including
more than 450 professionals
who focus on hedge funds.
But it retains the small-firm
ambience that its smaller clients appreciate.
One hedge fund client
with less than $1 billion
under management and a
straightforward long-short
equity strategy says he gets
the quality expertise he needs
from Grant Thornton, plus a
personal touch.
“I knew I was never going
to be a mega-billion-dollar
hedge fund,” the client says.
“So I knew I would never be an
important client to a Big Four
firm.
But I felt that I would always be an important client to
Grant Thornton. And the fees
would be significantly less.”
The U.S. and the U.K.
account for more than half of
Grant Thornton’s revenue and
most of its hedge fund business. For the past four years,
Michael Patanella has led the
firm’s U.S. hedge fund practice, which represents about
350 hedge funds with a combined $150 billion in assets.
Part of what makes the firm
attractive is the access to top
partners — including himself
— that Patanella provides.
“It is a personal relationship with him,” the client says.
“I can call him on a Sunday
afternoon if I need to.
He is accessible and responsive.”
Fifth-place finisher Marcum
has been developing a niche
in hedge funds and maintains
efforts aimed at smaller managers, including programs for
emerging managers and hedge
fund start-ups. The hedge fund
practice is part of the firm’s
alternative-investment group,
which has more than 50 professionals and has been headed
by Beth Wiener since Marcum’s founding in 2000. The
firm has 1,500 employees in
offices around the U.S., Grand
Cayman and China.
Although the next-ranked
firm in the Alpha Awards,
Deloitte, trails rival PwC in
revenue, it has the largest
workforce in the accounting
field: 225,000.
Deloitte’s overall
KPMG has about 174,000
hedge fund leader is Patrick
employees, including 600 proHenry, who serves as head
fessionals who work on hedge
of investment management.
fund accounts. Robert Mirsky,
Edward Dougherty leads the
the global hedge fund leader,
hedge fund practice in the U.S.
relocated from London to New
RSM (formerly McGladrey),
York in 2014 and has helped
No. 7 in the Alpha Awards,
shepherd the Rothstein merger
exhibits many of the same
along, working with Steve
qualities as Grant
Mena, the former
Thornton.
It is also
Rothstein managan upper-midtier
ing partner who
firm, with $4.4 bilnow leads the U.S.
lion in global
hedge fund
revenue and 37,500
practice.
employees. John
Though movHague leads the
ing from a small
financial accountregional firm to a
ing practice. Firm
big multinational
partner Alan Alzfan
accountant may
heads the hedge
prove challenging
fund audit unit,
for some smaller
while partner Richhedge fund firms
ard Nichols runs
affected by the
the hedge fund tax
merger, some
Michael Greenstein,
practice.
larger managers
Pricewaterhouse
Coopers
No.
8–ranked
may welcome
KPMG has enjoyed
the change. One
a boost in revenue
KPMG client, now
and hedge fund clients thanks
a multi-billion-dollar manager,
to the Rothstein Kass merger.
hired Rothstein Kass years
Its U.S. revenue grew by 9.8
ago, when the fund was a
percent in its fiscal year ended
small start-up.
An executive
in September 2015, the first
in that firm has heard some
full year after the merger.
mixed reviews of the merger
KPMG reported
from other managers but says
global revenue of
his own experience has been
$24.4 billion last
positive.
year, and though
“We don’t think we have
that was below
lost any attention or level of
the previous year’s
service since the transition,” he
$24.8 billion, the
says. “My biggest concern was
ASPECT
firm says that
that responsiveness might be
when the figure is
Audit
impacted. Our team has been
expressed in local
pretty happy with KPMG.”
Hedge Fund Expertise
currencies rather
If KPMG can expand that
Client Service
than in dollars, it
sentiment over the next year,
Tax
had a global revmaybe it can regain its footing
enue increase of
in the Alpha Awards as well.
Regulatory & Compliance
8.1 percent.
— Irwin Speizer
“We have
picked
up several
large clients
and expect
more
opportunities
created
by the
KPMG-RK
transaction.”
Order of Importance
to Clients
RANK
2016
RANK
2015
1
1
2
2
3
4
4
3
5
5
Reprinted from the Winter 2016 issue of alpha Magazine.
Copyright 2016 by alpha Magazine. All rights reserved.
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