The economic events of 2008 and 2009 resulted in significant displacement of star talent from market-leading investment banks and similar financial institutions, some of which have ceased to exist.  Some of those stars have moved on to their own ventures, and are launching their own investment management firms to raise hedge or private equity funds.  For most of their careers, some of these individuals, or entire teams of talent, may have thrived in larger institutional environments; however, now many are facing new challenges with practical issues they never had to address, or be bothered with, in the past.  Basic questions can range from something as fundamental and potentially complicated as “do I need to register with the SEC and what rules apply to me?” to something much more basic like “are the terms of this office lease a good deal for me?”  Any manager starting a hedge fund or private equity fund advisory business, whether an experienced veteran or first-timer, will need to think about many issues that could be broadly grouped within the following five categories: (1) seed investors/compensation arrangements; (2) registration requirements for the investment manager and its funds; (3) other regulatory issues impacting private funds; (4) the fund’s offering and operating documents; and (5) the investment manager’s business operations and service providers.  In a guest article, Ira P. Kustin, a Partner in the investment funds practice group at Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld LLP, details the relevant considerations for start-up managers in each of these five categories.