Houlihan Capital’s whitepaper on ESOPs What is an ESOP? An Employee Stock Ownership Plan (“ESOP”) is a defined contribution retirement plan, authorized by the Employee Retirement Income Security Act (“ERISA”) similar to a profit sharing plan. Passed by Congress in 1974, ERISA provides tax incentives to establish ESOPs in accordance…

Public companies are required to comply with United States Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) filings and regulations. On average, public companies can spend anywhere from $1million to$3 million per year more than similar private companies due to regulatory and financial reporting costs. Studies have shown that public companies spend more…

Fair Value Best Practices and Implementation Overview Given the difficulty of valuing illiquid assets and the potential for conflict of interest, hedge funds, private equity firms, and other investment managers and financial institutions (“Asset Management Firms”) are receiving greater attention from regulators, investors, auditors, politicians, and other industry participants, with…

Portfolio Valuations Valuation of Alternative Investments Given the difficulty of valuing illiquid assets and the potential for conflict of interest, hedge funds, private equity firms, and other investment managers and financial institutions are receiving greater attention from regulators, investors, auditors, politicians, and other industry participants, with the trend toward a…

AIFMD Requirements for Non-EU Managers As of July 22, 2013, the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (“AIFMD”) became effective in the European Union (“EU”). While the directive impacts an EU Alternative Investment Fund Manager (“Manager”) managing and marketing an EU Alternative Investment Fund (“Fund”) immediately, we will now take a…