Fund waterfalls can look like a calculation problem, yet the calculation is really the end of the story. Before any numbers are run, decisions have already been made about when performance should be recognised, when a manager should participate in profits and how the economics of success should be shared between a GP and its LPs.

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For Shinobu Miyata, Head of Japan at Langham Hall, this is what makes waterfalls interesting. Their mechanics may be mathematical, but their origins are not. The structures used across private markets today have been shaped by decades of negotiation between investment managers and the investors whose capital they manage.

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Seen in that light, a waterfall is more than a method of distributing proceeds. It is a record of how the market has tried to reconcile two sets of interests.

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Behind the calculation is a judgement

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Take one of the classic questions in waterfall design: deal-by-deal or whole fund?

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Imagine a fund with ten investments, five of which perform exceptionally well and five of which lose money. Under a deal-by-deal waterfall, the GP may participate in the profits from successful investments before the rest of the portfolio has been realised.

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The manager can reasonably argue that value has been created and should be recognised. The investor can equally ask what happens if gains on those investments are subsequently offset by losses elsewhere in the fund. Neither view is unreasonable; each simply approaches performance from a different starting point.

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Whole-fund waterfalls assess returns at fund level. Investors generally receive their contributed capital and any preferred return before carried interest is paid. Adjusted deal-by-deal and other hybrid structures have developed in response to the tension between the two positions. This is why Shinobu describes a waterfall as “an incentive design mechanism” rather than a profit allocation formula.

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Why the template is only the beginning

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The same history sits behind many of the provisions that now appear routinely in fund documentation. Carried interest, hurdle rates, catch-ups and the choice between deal-by-deal and whole-fund structures can easily appear to be established features of the market. They did not arrive there by accident. Each reflects arguments about economics, incentives and what different generations of GPs and LPs considered fair.

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This has particular resonance in Japan, where template LPAs are sometimes treated as the correct answer. Shinobu regards them differently: “Template LPAs are not answers. They are historical records.”

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A familiar provision tells us where market practice has arrived; it does not, by itself, explain why that provision is appropriate for a particular fund. The more revealing questions lie underneath. What problem was this term intended to solve? Whose interests does it protect? What behaviour does it encourage? And does that reasoning make sense for this strategy and these investors?

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What sits behind the hurdle?

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An 8% hurdle rate is common in private markets and Shinobu’s instinct is to ask why.

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Market convention is one answer, but it says little about the economics. Once capital has been called, it is tied up in the fund until it is distributed rather than being available for deployment elsewhere. Listed equities, real estate and other private funds all compete, in different ways, for that capital.

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Strategies and asset classes vary, and there is no single correct hurdle rate. Shinobu does, however, pause when he sees a 0% hurdle. Investors can hold government bonds, investment-grade credit or an index fund, each offering an expected return. If they are being asked to commit capital for a decade with no minimum return before the manager participates in profits, that choice warrants scrutiny.

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What matters is whether the chosen terms have a rationale that can be explained to investors. Framed that way, a technical negotiation over a percentage becomes a broader conversation about the opportunity cost of capital, the nature of the strategy and the basis on which a GP and its LPs share in the fund's success.

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When the LPA meets real cash flows

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Another side of waterfalls becomes visible once a fund is operating. The LPA may set out the agreed economics, but real cash flows rarely arrive in a neat sequence. Capital is called and investments are realised at different points in the fund's life. Distributions may be partial, while preferred returns accrue and, depending on the terms, may compound. At that point, timing matters.

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Shinobu recently reviewed a case in which intuition pointed to one outcome and the mathematics to another. Anyone responsible for putting waterfall provisions into practice will recognise the problem: terms that appear straightforward on the page can produce unexpected results when applied across a series of actual cash flows.

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This is where a fund administrator brings something different to the conversation. Its role is not to decide what is fair between the GP and its LPs. Its perspective comes from turning the commercial bargain into a calculation and applying it consistently over the life of the fund.

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If the intended economics cannot be translated clearly into the mechanics of the waterfall, ambiguity can remain hidden until there is real money to distribute. For a GP, that argues for testing the waterfall against realistic cash-flow scenarios while the LPA is still being negotiated, rather than discovering its behaviour when the first proceeds arrive.

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From negotiated principle to economic outcome

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A waterfall sits at an unusual intersection: it begins with a commercial negotiation, is expressed through legal drafting and ultimately becomes mathematics. All three need to tell the same story.

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Understanding a waterfall therefore means looking beyond the formula. A template shows how others have approached the question and market convention provides a reference point, but neither removes the need to examine the reasoning behind the terms or to consider them against the wider opportunity set available to investors.

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For Shinobu, the evolution of waterfalls reflects successive attempts by GPs and LPs to recognise performance, account for the cost of capital and agree how the rewards of successful investment should be shared. The final calculation is where all of those choices become real.

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The question, then, is not simply whether the waterfall has been calculated correctly. It is whether the calculation gives effect to the economic relationship that the GP and its LPs intended to create.

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This article draws on Shinobu Miyata’s Slowsteps article and podcast episode: Episode 9 - Why Waterfalls Exist

Defence, security and dual-use technologies are becoming a significant focus for private capital investors. As governments prioritise national resilience, cybersecurity, critical infrastructure and strategic technologies, investment managers are increasingly seeking opportunities across sectors that support security, innovation and long-term economic growth.

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As specialist defence funds emerge across Europe, North America and the Middle East, the Channel Islands are well positioned to support this growth through their established funds ecosystem, deep professional expertise and strong track record in servicing alternative investment structures. Reflecting growing institutional interest in the sector, the European Investment Fund's Defence Equity Facility 2.0 has an initial target size of €1 billion and is designed to support venture capital, private equity, private credit and infrastructure funds focused on defence and cybersecurity.

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Defence investment moves into the mainstream

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What was once considered a niche investment theme has increasingly entered the mainstream. Institutional investors are now assessing defence and security through the lens of national resilience, critical infrastructure and technological innovation, rather than solely through traditional defence classifications.

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This shift extends beyond defence contractors and aerospace businesses. Investors are increasingly targeting sectors such as:

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• Cybersecurity and digital resilience

• Artificial intelligence and advanced technologies

• Satellite and space-based infrastructure

• Critical infrastructure protection

• Advanced manufacturing and industrial capability

• Military logistics and supply chain resilience

• Dual-use technologies with both commercial and defence applications

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Dual-use technologies are proving particularly attractive. Many innovations developed for commercial markets, including AI, cybersecurity, satellite systems and advanced manufacturing capabilities, also have applications in defence and national security. As a result, defence and security investing increasingly intersects with established venture capital, private equity, infrastructure and private credit strategies.

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The Channel Islands advantage

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The Channel Islands have long been recognised as leading international finance centres, supporting investment funds across private equity, venture capital, infrastructure, real estate and private debt. Their mature professional services sectors, political stability and strong regulatory frameworks have made the islands established centres for alternative investment structures serving global investors.

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The islands' expertise in closed-ended private market vehicles, co-investment structures, parallel funds and complex cross-border arrangements is particularly relevant for defence and dual-use strategies. Managers in this sector often need to accommodate differing investor restrictions, reporting requirements and governance expectations within a single fund platform.

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Both Jersey and Guernsey have continued to enhance their private fund regimes to meet market demand. Guernsey's updated Private Investment Fund regime removed the previous limit on the number of qualifying private investors, while Jersey's revised Jersey Private Fund regime lifted its previous 50-investor cap and introduced a streamlined 24-hour authorisation process for qualifying applications.

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Supporting defence fund managers

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Defence and dual-use technology investments often sit within evolving regulatory environments and may attract heightened investor scrutiny. Managers may invest across multiple jurisdictions, into businesses with sensitive technologies, government customers or national security significance, while navigating complex investor expectations and regulatory obligations.

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These strategies can face increased focus on governance, sanctions compliance, ESG policies, reputational considerations and investor transparency. While not unique to defence-related investments, these factors heighten the importance of robust operational infrastructure and experienced service providers.

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Fund administrators play a critical role throughout the fund lifecycle, providing accounting, reporting, investor servicing, governance support and operational oversight that help managers meet increasingly complex requirements.

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Langham Hall supports alternative investment managers across a broad range of asset classes, providing administration, reporting and governance services for complex private market structures. This experience is particularly relevant as managers pursue opportunities within increasingly specialised sectors, including defence, security and dual-use technologies.

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Looking ahead

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Defence, security and strategic technology are increasingly being recognised as long-term structural investment themes rather than short-term responses to geopolitical events. As institutional capital continues to flow into these sectors, demand is likely to grow for fund structures capable of accommodating complex investor requirements, international capital pools and robust governance frameworks.

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With their established funds industry, specialist expertise and flexible regulatory environment, the Channel Islands are well placed to support the next generation of defence, security and dual-use technology investment funds.

Quinn Roes and Nikita Arya both joined Langham Hall at the start of their careers. They talk about the work they were trusted with early and the colleagues who made that possible.

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Quinn Roes joined Langham Hall straight from college, having seen a few other working environments through internships. What struck her here was how people responded.

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“If something comes up, the focus is on, ‘Okay, how can we work together to fix this for the client?’ rather than pointing fingers.”

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That becomes most visible when the pressure comes from outside the team. An urgent client request comes in late and the work has to be done.

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“Everyone on the team is willing to help when an urgent task arises, even if that means working late.”

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For Roes, that willingness to help comes back to mutual respect. If people within a team do not respect each other, she says, nobody wants to step in when the pressure is on.

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Trusted with the difficult work

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Roes, now an Associate, was put onto a large client to help with onboarding almost immediately and was given complex accounting work from analyst level.

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“Often when you are just starting, you do not always get to see complex topics. I was given that opportunity right from the beginning.”

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That did not mean being left alone with it. Her work is reviewed by a manager and delivery remains a team effort. But the exposure came early and the responsibility has grown alongside it.

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“As I have grown in my role and the longer I have been here, the more responsibilities I have been given, which shows their trust in me and how they appreciate the work I do.”

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She still works on the same client today. Where many of her colleagues in the US office work across several, hers is large enough to occupy most of her time and it keeps producing situations she has not met before. Depth, in her case, has not meant narrowness.

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The longer view

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Nikita Arya, a Senior Associate, can look back over a longer stretch of her career with Langham Hall.

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“I joined Langham Hall at the start of my career and have had the chance to grow with the business. What has kept me here is the people and the opportunities I've been given. I've been trusted to take on new responsibilities, work with different clients and learn from my colleagues.”

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Looking back, Arya sees that support as an important part of how she has developed, both professionally and personally. It is also something she recognizes in the way the wider team works.

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“Everyone is approachable and willing to help, and there's a real sense of teamwork. People share their knowledge and support each other, which creates a positive environment and helps us deliver to our clients.”

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The work has changed too.

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“When I first joined, my role was mainly focused on the preparation side, and now I'm more involved in client communication and have taken on more responsibility within the team.”

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Between them, Arya and Roes describe the same pattern. Giving people meaningful work early builds capability quickly, but only where there are experienced colleagues willing to review it, explain it and step in when it matters.

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From joining to hiring

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Arya's growing responsibility extends to building the team itself. For the past year and a half, she has been leading recruitment efforts in the US office.

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Roes has also recently become involved in recruitment. Having arrived from college with no experience of the industry, she is now on the other side of that conversation, helping decide who joins next.

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She expects there to be more of those conversations. The US business has momentum and she sees that translating into opportunities for the people already in it.

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“I'm excited to see where that goes. Hopefully that presents opportunities for everyone in the business to be able to grow and move up.”

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Ten years in, the opportunity is to make sure the people who come next are trusted with the difficult work as quickly as Roes was, by colleagues who remember being trusted with it themselves.

The direction of travel for Form PF is becoming clearer.

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On 31 August 2026, the SEC and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) extended the compliance date for the 2024 Form PF amendments from 1 October 2026 to 1 July 2027. The extension follows the agencies’ April 2026 proposal to eliminate or simplify a number of Form PF requirements and reduce the reporting burden for private fund advisers.

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The timing matters. The CFTC has said explicitly that the extension allows Form PF filers to avoid potentially significant costs associated with implementing 2024 requirements that the agencies have subsequently proposed to amend or eliminate. SEC Chairman, Paul Atkins, has similarly said the additional time will allow the Commission to conclude its consideration of final amendments to the form.

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For managers preparing for the April 2027 reporting cycle, this significantly narrows the range of possible outcomes. The 2024 amendments will not be the applicable regime for that filing, although one timing question remains.

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What has changed?

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Form PF is the confidential filing through which the SEC and CFTC collect information about private funds and their advisers, including information used to support the Financial Stability Oversight Council’s monitoring of systemic risk.

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In February 2024, the agencies adopted wide-ranging amendments to Form PF. Amongst other things, those changes would introduce more granular reporting for certain fund structures and alter a number of reporting requirements for private fund advisers.

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Implementation has since been delayed several times. Following a broader review of Form PF, the SEC and CFTC published a new proposal in April 2026 that would reverse, eliminate or simplify a number of those requirements. The latest extension to July 2027 gives the agencies further time to determine the final shape of the regime before firms incur the costs of implementing requirements that may ultimately be removed.

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What does this mean for the April 2027 filing?

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The April 2027 filing is now the most immediate practical question.

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With the 2024 amendments delayed until 1 July 2027, managers preparing an annual filing for April 2027 will not need to implement those amendments solely for that reporting cycle.

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There remains, however, an important question over the timing of the April 2026 proposals. Managers therefore still need to be prepared for two possible outcomes:

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• the existing Form PF requirements remain in place for the April 2027 filing, or
• the amendments proposed in April 2026 have been finalised and implemented in time to apply.

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There is an additional timing nuance. The April proposal contemplated a minimum 12-month transition period from publication of any final amendments in the Federal Register, although the agencies expressly sought views on whether that period should be shorter and whether certain changes, including the revised filing thresholds, should take effect sooner. The final transition arrangements will therefore be important in determining exactly which requirements apply in April 2027.

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This is the remaining uncertainty managers need to plan around. It is considerably narrower than the position earlier in 2026.

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A much higher filing threshold

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One of the key changes proposed in April is an increase in the threshold at which an SEC-registered investment adviser is required to file Form PF.

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The current threshold of $150 million in private fund assets under management would rise to $1 billion. The SEC and CFTC estimate that this would remove the Form PF filing obligation for almost half of advisers currently required to file, while still capturing more than 90% of private fund gross asset value.

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For firms close to the proposed threshold, the impact is therefore potentially fundamental: the issue may not simply be how much information they report, but whether they remain subject to Form PF at all.

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Managers will need to monitor the final threshold and its implementation date carefully, particularly because the agencies have specifically asked whether the threshold changes should take effect on a different timetable from the rest of the amendments.

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Changes for large hedge fund advisers

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The April proposals would also increase the threshold for classification as a large hedge fund adviser from $1.5 billion to $10 billion in hedge fund assets under management.

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For advisers that remain above the threshold, the proposal would also simplify a number of reporting requirements, including certain counterparty exposure reporting and performance volatility requirements, and eliminate some current reporting obligations.

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These changes illustrate the wider direction of the review: a materially narrower and more targeted Form PF regime.

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Simpler reporting for certain master-feeder structures

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The treatment of multi-vehicle structures is another important area.

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Before the 2024 amendments, advisers had greater flexibility in how they reported master-feeder and parallel fund structures. The 2024 amendments generally moved towards separate reporting for the component funds of those structures, while retaining a limited exception for certain disregarded feeder funds.

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The April 2026 proposal would broaden that disregarded feeder fund exception. A feeder fund could qualify where no more than 5% of its gross asset value is invested outside a single master fund, US Treasury bills and cash or cash equivalents.

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For qualifying master-feeder structures, that could reduce some of the disaggregation and data-mapping work required under the 2024 amendments.

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The position for parallel funds is different. The proposal does not provide an equivalent general exemption for parallel fund structures, which would continue to be reported separately subject to the disregarded feeder fund rules.

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That distinction matters for managers assessing how much of the work already undertaken for the 2024 regime remains useful.

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Quarterly event reporting for private equity fund advisers

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The April proposals would also eliminate quarterly event reporting for private equity fund advisers.

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This would remove a reporting obligation introduced as part of earlier Form PF reforms and represents a clear area of potential relief for private equity managers.

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Taken alongside the proposed higher filing threshold and simplification of other reporting requirements, it reflects a broader reassessment of how much information regulators need to collect through Form PF and from which advisers.

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The precise relief ultimately available will depend on the final rules, but the policy direction is now clearly towards a more proportionate reporting framework rather than the wider reporting architecture overhaul envisaged by the 2024 amendments.

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What happens to work already undertaken for the 2024 amendments?

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Many managers have already invested time in data mapping, systems work and internal processes in preparation for the 2024 amendments.

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The latest extension is a strong reason not to continue implementing those changes simply to meet the previously scheduled compliance date. The agencies themselves have acknowledged that further delay can prevent firms incurring costs implementing requirements that may subsequently be amended or eliminated.

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It does not, however, follow that all preparation undertaken to date should be discarded.

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The final rule extending the compliance date also preserves the possibility that some or all of the 2024 requirements could remain relevant if the April proposals are not adopted in whole or in part. Managers should therefore avoid dismantling useful data, controls or reporting processes before the final position is known.

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The more practical approach is to distinguish between work that remains useful under the existing regime or likely future requirements and work that was undertaken solely to meet provisions now proposed for removal.

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What should managers consider now?

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The latest extension gives managers more breathing room, but it does not remove the April 2027 filing obligation for firms that remain in scope.

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The immediate priority should be to maintain a robust process for the requirements that apply today while keeping enough flexibility to respond if the April 2026 proposals are implemented in time for the next filing cycle.

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Managers may therefore want to consider:

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• whether they would remain within scope if the proposed $1 billion filing threshold is adopted
• which existing data and reporting processes will still be needed under either April 2027 scenario
• whether work undertaken for the 2024 amendments can be paused without losing information or controls that may still prove useful
• how the proposed changes to event reporting and master-feeder structures could affect their reporting requirements
• whether internal systems and service-provider arrangements can accommodate a change in the applicable rules without substantial rework

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How Langham Hall can help

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Langham Hall prepares and files Form PF reports for SEC-registered private fund advisers.

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We can support managers with their next filing under either potential April 2027 scenario, from determining reporting scope and data requirements through to preparation and submission.

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As the rulemaking progresses, we will continue to monitor the final requirements and implementation timetable. Our approach draws on more than ten years of regulatory reporting experience, supported by proprietary technology and consistent reporting logic. This allows managers to maintain a controlled reporting process without having to commit prematurely to one regulatory outcome. In particular, our technology platform means we are very well placed to assist managers with large numbers of funds which need reporting.

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For firms that have already undertaken extensive preparation for the 2024 amendments, we can also work with them to understand how existing data and processes can support the requirements that ultimately apply.

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If you would like to discuss what the latest Form PF developments could mean for your next filing, please get in touch.

Langham Hall is pleased to bring you the fourth episode of First Close, where Tom Pinnell, Head of Commercial, Europe, sits down with emerging private equity managers and the people who work alongside them for an honest look at what it takes to build a private equity firm from scratch.

In this episode, Tom is joined by Chris Gorell Barnes, Co-founder of Ocean 14 Capital. Chris spent over a decade building the Blue Marine Foundation, one of the world's leading ocean conservation charities, before co-founding Ocean 14, a private equity impact investment firm dedicated to the blue economy. In 2024, Ocean 14 raised over €200 million for its debut fund, hitting the hard cap. As Chris puts it, Ocean 14's mandate is "the most important investment thesis of all time." They discuss:

• Why a $3 trillion economy is still overlooked by investors
• What happens if we don't increase our investment in the oceans
• The importance of private equity in scaling these businesses
• Shrimp genetics, cod farming and sustainable plastics
• What success looks like for Ocean 14

Available on Spotify, Apple Podcasts and all major platforms.

To listen to the full episode: click here

It is 7:30pm on a Friday evening, and a client needs a net distribution sent out.

The request is late and urgent, but it goes well beyond a standard distribution. It is about a critical combination of deliverables during a pivotal period for the firm: active fundraising. A net distribution back to LPs boosts sentiment in a tough fundraising environment where DPI has been particularly elusive, allowing IR teams to feature the latest distribution activity and updated IRR figures in their upcoming deck. Every step hinges on the next, and the entire sequence turns on whether a team that has already wrapped up for the week is willing to step back in.

"The team responds from the top down," says Joseph Hindi, Head of Langham Hall US. "That awareness, care and accountability are what allow us to deliver when the timing is difficult."

Moments like that capture what Joseph believes distinguishes Langham Hall US: senior involvement, accountability and a willingness to respond when circumstances change.

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Supporting managers as their needs evolve

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Fund managers rarely have uniform requirements from an administrator, nor do those needs remain static for long. An emerging manager often requires practical, step-by-step guidance through the launch process: defining what must happen, in what sequence and on what timeline. An established manager, by contrast, may need comprehensive support across successive vintages, multi-strategy platforms, increasingly complex structures and sophisticated liquidity transactions.

"Different managers have distinct needs," Joseph says. "The real test is whether you can continue to seamlessly meet those needs as their business grows in complexity."

The growth of the US business, he says, has been a by-product of consistent execution in a competitive market.

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Judgment before the numbers

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The most valuable work often happens well before a single report is produced.

Ahead of a complex transaction, clients regularly ask the US team to review the legal documentation and the structure charts to evaluate, from an accounting perspective, why specific entities exist. In many instances, the team identifies clear opportunities to simplify the structure while preserving the underlying commercial objectives: fewer moving parts, lower costs and reduced risk ahead of a major distribution.

That is where administration evolves into a true advisory role: applying seasoned judgment early enough to improve how a complex transaction is structured and executed.

Joseph draws a firm line between being a vendor and a true partner, defining it unglamorously.

"A vendor just executes a work order; a partner owns the outcome. It simply means doing what you say you are going to do," he says. "It means understanding what the client needs, maintaining a clear line of communication and consistently delivering on a deadline."

Langham Hall's partner-led structure is built around direct access. Clients can discuss complex issues with senior leadership, reach clear decisions, and see them executed seamlessly through the client service team.

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What clients are asking for now

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Expectations have risen across the board, driven from the top down. Heightened scrutiny from allocators flows directly to fund managers and ultimately to organizations like Langham Hall that support them. Service, team caliber, technology and execution speed are no longer evaluated in isolation; together, they form a single test of whether an operating platform is fit for purpose.

Liquidity is where that pressure is the sharpest.

"Clients are demanding both speed and data integrity," Joseph says. "They cannot execute creative liquidity solutions without the historical data and performance metrics required to demonstrate a clear path to value realization.”

A continuation vehicle or a secondary sale cannot rely on good intentions alone. It demands complete, rigorous historical data, reporting that holds up under institutional scrutiny and performance metrics delivered fast enough to be actionable.

For Langham Hall, the opportunity is not simply to add more technology tools around existing ways of working. Its computable data strategy is designed to create the structured foundation on which AI can be used to re-engineer entire processes, improving the speed, consistency and quality of delivery.

Joseph sees that investment as an extension of the firm's client-led model. Technology can transform how work is delivered, while experienced professionals remain responsible for understanding  the underlying legal documentation, strategic decisions and commercial context behind the numbers.

Supported by Langham Hall's global platform, the US team also draws on specialist cross-border expertise as client fund structures become increasingly international.

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When he is not in the office

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Ask Joseph what he is proudest of, and he will not bring up new mandates or asset growth.

"No matter where someone sits in the organizational structure, they do not want to let the next person down," he says. "That matters. Happier, highly aligned teams foster a better working environment and culture that drives superior outcomes for clients."

“I think the most common analogy is a sports team, but not everyone is a sports fan. Trying to build a connection with people means meeting them outside your usual frame of reference.  Think of a movie set: you have the actors, directors, camera operators, lighting crews and makeup artists, all working toward the common goal of getting the scene right. I try to foster that exact focus and alignment within our business, which is funny because I actually don’t know the first thing about making movies.”

The US management team brings deep experience spanning audit, financial services and fund administration and, crucially, maintains these exact operational standards even when Joseph is out of the office. His priorities remain intentionally targeted: empowering the people within the business and serving the clients who depend on them.

Maintaining that focus across each level, while preserving the apprenticeship model that carries expectations down through the organization, has enabled the business to expand rapidly without making the client experience feel more distant or institutionalized.

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Building on the difference

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Joseph is clear-eyed about the trade-offs of scale. A close-knit firm thrives on the instincts and presence of a core team, qualities that rarely survive rapid headcount growth on their own. He compares the risk to a rubber band: operational bandwidth can stretch only so far before something breaks.

"You can lose the secret sauce you had at 60 people when you reach 100 or 200," he says. "The solution is to intentionally develop more culture carriers along the way and empower them through effective delegation."

That secret sauce isn’t complex. It is the senior involvement, accountability and genuine care that clients experience when an urgent request lands late on a Friday evening. Scaling those values across a growing organization demands continuous investment in people, leadership and trust.

But the opportunity ahead goes beyond preserving what has worked. Computable data and AI create the potential to operate differently and at greater scale, strengthening the service clients receive while retaining the judgment and accountability on which the US business was built.

The ambition is that when a client calls at 7:30pm on a Friday ten years from now, they reach the same partner-led firm they rely on today, supported by a platform built for what clients need next.

“We continue to grow and evolve,” Joseph says, “and as long as we keep putting clients’ actual outcomes above our own convenience, we’ll stay on the right path.”

Langham Hall is pleased to have supported Tasman Capital Partners on the launch of Fund IV, a mid-market Australian and New Zealand focused private equity fund. The fund has already reached two important milestones: a successful first close of approximately AUD$120m (representing around 60% of its AUD$200m target) and the completion of its two initial investments.

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The fund attracted strong backing from investors across Europe, the US, Asia and Australia, reflecting confidence in Tasman’s strategy of investing in businesses in Australia and New Zealand. The fund’s focus on long-term value creation through operational improvements and strategic acquisitions positions it to capitalise on favourable dynamics in the lower mid-market.

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Its first investment is in Black Mount Spring Water, a leading owner and manager of natural spring water assets across Australia. This marks an exciting start and underlines the fund’s commitment to nurturing high-quality businesses in the region. The fund’s second investment is in Acis, a technology-enabled legal services platform specialising in the formation and administration of companies, trusts and self-managed superannuation funds. These investments demonstrate Tasman's emphasis on strategic growth, providing capital, expert guidance and access to a robust regional network to drive sustainable success.

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Langham Hall is proud to provide comprehensive fund administration services to Tasman Capital Partners as it establishes and scales Fund IV. Our team provides tailored reporting, compliance and investor relations support, underpinned by operational expertise and strategic insight.

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We look forward to continuing to support Tasman as it works towards final close in early March 2027.

Langham Hall has been shortlisted for the Private Equity Wire US Awards 2026 in the following five categories:

• Fund Administrator of the Year: GPs - AUM under $30billion
• Fund Administrator of the Year: Technology
• Fund Administrator of the Year: Client Services
• Fund Administrator of the Year: Private Credit
• Depositary Services of the Year

Voting is now open until Monday, September 16 and we welcome your support. The awards recognize excellence among private equity service providers and fund managers in the US across a broad range of categories. 

Commenting on our nominations Joseph Hindi, Head of US said: 

“We are proud to be recognized across five categories this year. These nominations reflect the strength of our partner-led approach, our focus on robust controls and our commitment to delivering a high level of service to our clients. We are grateful to our team and clients for their continued trust and support."

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Please click the following link to cast your vote: Vote for Langham Hall

Grace Powell joined Langham Hall as an intern and has recently been promoted to Associate in our Depositary Services team.

Her journey reflects how an early career in Depositary can develop through professional qualifications, hands-on learning, increasing responsibility and exposure to different parts of the business.

Langham Hall provides depositary services to more than 300 alternative investment funds across private equity, real estate, debt and infrastructure. We spoke with Grace about her career so far, the opportunities that have shaped her development and what she is looking forward to next.  

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Q&A

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Congratulations on your promotion. What does becoming an Associate mean to you?

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Becoming an Associate is a significant milestone because it not only reflects the growth in my technical expertise but also trust that has been placed in me by the team.

I will now look to take on increased responsibility and ownership of client deliverables and communication. It’s made me even more determined to continue developing in my career.

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Can you tell us a little about your journey at Langham Hall and how your role has developed since you joined?

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One of the things I have appreciated most about Langham Hall is the variety of opportunities I've been given.

Since joining, I’ve had the opportunity to gain experience with the AML (Anti-Money Laundering) team and the Business Development team. I have also taken on the role as team social secretary. I now look to develop my own portfolio of clients and take on a role as a manager of an analyst. ‍

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How have professional qualifications helped you develop, and how has Langham Hall supported you through that process?

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Passing CAIA Level I has definitely been one of the highlights of my professional career so far. It challenged me to develop my knowledge of alternative investments and has helped me in my day-to-day tasks.

Langham Hall was very supportive during this time, giving me all the resources that I needed and the support to balance work with studying.

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What advice would you give someone considering a career in Depositary, and what excites you most about the next stage of your own career?

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My advice would be to always stay curious and willing to learn. Depositary work gives you a broad exposure to the different aspects of the alternative investment industry. It is a great place to build a foundation of knowledge.

What excites me most about the next steps of my career is continuing to develop my technical expertise, so I can strengthen client relationships and take on more complex work.

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Developing a career in Depositary Services

Delivering Depositary services requires a combination of technical knowledge, attention to detail and commercial understanding. Grace's journey highlights how these skills can be built through hands-on experience and professional development at Langham Hall.

To learn more about how we support and develop our people, visit Approach to work.