Is there a good intro to how funds work, e.g.: Questions running to my head are:
From reading a “Depository account” is needed, I’m guessing this is like a brokerage account in some countries and you hold the fund kinda like stocks (but can’t buy/sell daily)
How do you buy the funds? e.g. Put money in depository account, search web interface for a “fund code” then buy (like stocks) or a much more manual process (e.g. phone and forms)
How do “subscription end dates” work, some have 1 Jan 2023, what are they doing in 2021/2022 with the money? (e.g. as new money comes in do they just do more of their desired projects). Is everyone’s money doing nothing until 1 Jan 2023 and so they won’t sell the assets and close the fund until X years after 2023?
How do dividends normally work, e.g. same time each year (or quarter) you get money in your depository account?
How does sale work for people coming in at different times?
Are the funds ever liquid, e.g. if you get approved for citizenship earlier than expected (year 6 and you have a 7-10 year fund)
Hi michaelsmith.
At the risk of sounding curt, there are answers to all of these questions here. There is not a simple answer to these questions which is why this thread is hundreds of pages long:
Its just so much work to put together and maintain a FAQ, no one has done this but I am sure if you wanted to read through all the posts and put this together it would be most appreciated!
Too many of your questions have a “it depends on the fund” factor and/or assume a base of knowledge about the world of VC/hedge funds that most people simply do not have - which isn’t meant to be insulting, it’s just the reality that most people don’t invest in private equity.
But in short, it’s a brokerage account of a sort but only two banks seem to want to work with Americans at all, buying is a manual process, dividends are whatever the fund does if it even does them at all, when the fund starts working with the money depends, sale may or may not even be possible, some funds have liquidity and many don’t it just depends.
and some of this doesn’t even apply if you use BPI or IMGA, the open-end publicly-traded funds, which some have used and is covered in another thread but that presumes you are willing to invest in the portuguese stock market which is not exactly a booming place.
you should look at the topic that covers it, and look for Faizal’s spreadsheet that attempts to summarize at least some of it.