For Third Consecutive Year EisnerAmper Ranks as a Top Accounting Firm in Institutional Investor's Alpha Awards for Hedge Fund Service Providers – Winter 2016

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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.

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