Article in Today's WSJ on Search Funds

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by a searcher from University of Chicago
in Chicago, IL, USA

4yrs ago

Article in Today's WSJ on Search Funds

Thought this article might be of interest to searchers or friends/family/investors as it might add credibility to raising a fund. Personally, I was a little surprised about the $500,000 search fund amount as that seems roughly double what I would have expected for two years of searching...would appreciate any insights others have!

redacted

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reply by a searcher 4yrs ago
from Northwestern University in Chicago, IL, USA

Rather than look at a top down I would say think about it from a bottom up perspective. Most times searchers will take a salary of around $100-125K. Spread that across two year ($250K) then that leaves only $250K for legal fees, other operational costs (office space, software, accounting firms, and then you should plan assuming that you will have a deal that you have spent some serious money on blow up. Which advisors fees on a deal could easily run $100-150K when you bring in compliance, commercial, HR, IT, and any other diligence advisors. So add that all up and you get to ~$500K. I also know a number of partnered searches that raise quite a bit more (beyond just another salary) so as an average this seems fair and almost necessary to be able to conduct the professional quality search investors are looking for.

reply by an investor 4yrs ago
from Columbia University in Larchmont, NY, USA

Totally agree with posts by Brian and Michael. $500k - give or take - is about what we see from most solo traditional search funds. I agree that the WSJ article is a nice piece that can be used for a super quick primer on what search funds are all about.