Overview
Assets Under Management: $10.4 billionHeadquarters: CHICAGO, IL
High-Net-Worth Clients: 185
Average Client Assets: $10 million
Services Offered
Services: Financial Planning, Portfolio Management for Pooled Investment Vehicles, Investment Advisor SelectionFee Structure
Primary Fee Schedule (GRESHAM ADV PART 2A 03/31/2025)
Min | Max | Marginal Fee Rate |
---|---|---|
$0 | $25,000,000 | 0.75% |
$25,000,001 | $50,000,000 | 0.50% |
$50,000,001 | and above | 0.30% |
Minimum Annual Fee: $180,000
Illustrative Fee Rates
Total Assets | Annual Fees | Average Fee Rate |
---|---|---|
$1 million | $180,000 | 18.00% |
$5 million | $180,000 | 3.60% |
$10 million | $180,000 | 1.80% |
$50 million | $312,500 | 0.62% |
$100 million | $462,500 | 0.46% |
Clients
Number of High-Net-Worth Clients: 185Percentage of Firm Assets Belonging to High-Net-Worth Clients: 18.27
Average High-Net-Worth Client Assets: $10 million
Total Client Accounts: 230
Discretionary Accounts: 61
Non-Discretionary Accounts: 169
Regulatory Filings
CRD Number: 108668Last Filing Date: 2024-04-01 00:00:00
Website: HTTP://WWW.GRESHAMPARTNERS.COM
Form ADV Documents
Primary Brochure: GRESHAM ADV PART 2A 03/31/2025 (2025-03-31)
View Document Text
Form ADV Part 2A Brochure
Gresham Partners, LLC
333 West Wacker Drive, Suite 700
Chicago, IL 60606
(312) 960-0200
http://www.greshampartners.com
March 31, 2025
This brochure provides information about the qualifications and business practices of Gresham
Partners, LLC (“Gresham” or the “Firm”). Gresham is an investment adviser that is registered with
the United States Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”). Registration with the SEC
does not imply a certain level of skill or training. The information in this brochure has not been
approved or verified by the SEC or by any state securities authority.
If you have any questions about the contents of this brochure, please contact Robert Nanney,
Gresham’s Chief Compliance Officer, at 312-960-0200. Additional information about the Firm is
also available on the SEC’s website at www.investor.gov and on Gresham’s website at
www.greshampartners.com.
Item 2. Material Changes
The following is a summary of material changes to Gresham’s Form ADV Part 2A since its last
annual updating amendment dated March 28, 2024:
Item 10 – Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations was updated to remove
language detailing Gresham Partners’ registration with the National Futures Association
(“NFA”) as a Commodity Trading Advisor and Gresham Advisors, LLC’s registration as a
Commodity Pool Operator as both entities withdrew their registrations with the NFA in
2025.
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Item 3. Table of Contents
Item 1. Cover Page ....................................................................................................................... 1
Item 2. Material Changes ............................................................................................................. 2
Item 3. Table of Contents ............................................................................................................. 3
Item 4. Advisory Business ............................................................................................................ 3
Item 5. Fees and Compensation .................................................................................................. 5
Item 6. Performance-Based Fees and Side-by-Side Management .............................................. 7
Item 7. Types of Clients ................................................................................................................ 7
Item 8. Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss ......................................... 8
Item 9. Disciplinary Information .................................................................................................. 10
Item 10. Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations ........................................................ 10
Item 11. Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal Trading 11
Item 12. Brokerage Practices ..................................................................................................... 12
Item 13. Review of Accounts ...................................................................................................... 13
Item 14. Client Referrals and Other Compensation .................................................................... 14
Item 15. Custody ........................................................................................................................ 14
Item 16. Investment Discretion ................................................................................................... 15
Item 17. Voting Client Securities ................................................................................................ 15
Item 18. Financial Information .................................................................................................... 16
Item 4. Advisory Business
Gresham is a Delaware limited liability company that has been registered with the SEC as an
investment adviser since 1997, the year of its inception. Gresham provides investment and wealth
planning services to ultra-high net worth individuals, their families and family households as well
as their related trusts, estates, retirement plans, family offices, private trust companies, foundations
and endowments and similar clients (“Client” or “Clients”) on a discretionary and non-discretionary
basis.
Gresham primarily provides Clients with integrated investment and other wealth planning and
management services that include the creation of comprehensive investment, tax, wealth transfer,
trust administration and philanthropic strategies tailored to each Client’s situation. Gresham also
provides Clients with comprehensive asset and performance reporting, family member education,
consulting regarding the operation of their family offices and private trust companies, and
assistance obtaining and using other professional services provided by third parties.
The Firm tailors the investment advice it provides to each of its Clients, and these Clients may
impose reasonable restrictions on the ways in which their assets are managed.
Gresham’s wholly owned subsidiary, Gresham Advisors, LLC, has structured partnerships that
allow Clients of Gresham to access relatively diversified and carefully constructed pools of hedge
funds and private equity and real asset funds managed by unaffiliated investment advisers
(“Partnerships”). These Partnerships are only available to Gresham Clients and Gresham’s
qualified Partners and employees. Investor-Only Clients invest directly in Gresham’s Partnerships
without receiving other wealth management, consulting, or other advisory services. Investor-Only
Clients include former Clients that remain invested in Gresham Partnerships. With respect to the
Gresham Partnerships, the Firm is careful to abide by each Partnership’s investment mandates
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and all investment limitations and restrictions described in each Partnership’s confidential offering
materials.
Gresham has arranged with an unaffiliated third party, JTC Trust Company (Delaware) (“JTC”), to
make trustee and trust administration services available to Clients under terms likely more
favorable than these Clients could obtain on their own from JTC, including lower fees. Under this
arrangement, which is referred to as Gresham Partners Trust Solutions® and for which Gresham
has paid JTC a fee, Gresham helps Clients decide whether they want to utilize JTC’s services and,
if they decide to do so, Gresham works with them and JTC to structure how the services will be
delivered. Gresham does not receive any compensation as a result of Clients utilizing JTC’s
services.
As of December 31, 2024, Gresham exercised investment discretion over $7,421,892,492 in the
Gresham Partnerships and Client discretionary assets. The Firm provided non-discretionary
investment advice on Client assets worth $4,228,872,829. Therefore, Gresham’s total Regulatory
Assets Under Management as of December 31, 2024, were $11,650,765,320.
Gresham is owned by the following Partners of the Firm:
Ben A. Beavers
Matthew S. Bonaguidi
David S. Colton
Justin C. Gullman
Kim A. Kamin
Steven G. Loman
Linda “Lee” Morava
Edward “Ted” F. Neild, IV
David A. Salsburg
Gregory D. Schneiderman
Joseph C. Simpson
Leisa W. Storbeck
Sean R. Warrington
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Item 5. Fees and Compensation
Gresham is compensated for the integrated wealth management services it provides through
payment of fees by its Clients. Fees are normally stated as a percentage of each Client’s total
advised assets using the following fee schedule with a minimum annual fee of $180,000 as a
guideline:
Assets Under Advisement Annual Fee
First $25 million
0.75%
Next $25 million
0.50%
Over $50 million
0.30%
For multi-household families, the minimum annual fee payable by Client is $180,000, and the
following fee schedule based on aggregated, average assets under management across the
multiple households applies:
Fee
Less than
$25
million
$25
million or
higher
$50
million or
higher
$75
million or
higher
$100
million or
higher
First $25 million
Next $25 million
Over $50 million
0.75%
0.50%
0.30%
0.70%
0.50%
0.30%
0.65%
0.50%
0.30%
0.60%
0.50%
0.30%
0.50%
0.50%
0.30%
These fee schedules may be modified from time to time, and fees may be adjusted based on each
Client’s circumstances. When determining the fee for a Client, Gresham considers the amount of
the Client’s current and potential advised assets, the number of households that are and will be
provided services, and the complexity of the Client’s investment and wealth planning situation.
Based on these considerations, Gresham will provide (i) multi-household family discounts, typically
at the first breakpoint for each household where clear service-related efficiencies exist; (ii) a
temporarily or permanently waived or reduced minimum fee; and/or, (iii) a phase-in period during
which rates in the fee schedule are adjusted, the fee schedule is applied to a reduced percentage
of assets under advisement (to avoid conflicts of interest related to scaling in investments during
the period and so Gresham does not appear to have an incentive to accelerate the rate at which
the investments become subject to the fee schedule), or (iv) other specifically agreed-upon terms,
as applicable.
Gresham charges some Clients an administrative services fee for non-investment advisory related
consulting, reporting and other services. This administrative services fee is charged at a discounted
rate from the standard fee schedule or as an agreed-upon amount based on the services being
provided. All fees are agreed upon with each Client and described in the Client’s Financial Advisory
Agreement (“FAA”).
In accordance with each Client’s FAA, the annual fee is generally calculated as a percentage of
the market value of all assets advised on the last day of each calendar quarter plus any first-of-
the-month contributions to Gresham’s Partnerships following the calendar quarter-end. For illiquid,
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commitment-based Gresham Partnerships where valuations are not always readily available,
Gresham will normally utilize the last available value plus or minus any intra-quarter capital activity.
Gresham’s advisory fees are typically collected quarterly in advance. Clients requesting to make
payments further in advance are approved under limited circumstances. Clients pay for advisory
services by check or wire or can give the Firm fee-debiting authority over one or more custodial
accounts.
To the extent that a Client terminates their advisory relationship with Gresham the Firm will
calculate and refund any unearned fees. If an account is terminated in the middle of the billing
period, fees will be prorated to the date of termination and any unearned portion of prepaid fees
will be refunded.
Clients are not charged a management fee or incentive fee to invest in Gresham’s Partnerships.
As of January 1, 2016, a Client that terminates their advisory relationship with Gresham but
remains invested in one or more Gresham Partnerships will be charged a maximum management
fee of 0.75% annually to remain invested in a Partnership. Former Clients who terminated their
advisory relationship prior to January 1, 2016, that remain invested in Gresham Partnerships may
pay a different fee based upon what was provided in the applicable Partnership’s confidential
offering materials or as agreed upon at the time of termination.
An Investor-Only Client that has never been an advisory Client and invests directly in a Gresham
Partnership will be charged an annual management fee or can choose to be charged an incentive
fee as described in detail in the applicable Partnership’s confidential offering materials. These fees
and fees charged to former Clients can be altered at the discretion of the General Partner and the
mutual agreement of the Investor-Only Client. Partnership fees are calculated quarterly and are
debited by the Partnership from Investor-Only Client accounts.
The Gresham Partnerships are subject to a variety of fees and expenses that are described in
detail in each Partnership’s confidential offering materials. Among other things, these fees and
expenses generally include: management fees and performance-based incentive allocations
collected by the unaffiliated managers chosen by Gresham; legal, administrative, and audit costs;
due diligence of managers, including travel expenses incurred in connection with such due
diligence; and third-party expenses related to the due diligence and ongoing monitoring of the
underlying managers, including any consultant-related fees and expenses; ongoing monitoring of
the Partnerships’ returns and risks, including costs related to the use of Bloomberg, and other
computer and software-related expenses; risk analyses; performance-benchmarking services;
costs incurred in connection with the acquisition, ownership, financing, hedging or sale of
investments, and taxes for the Gresham Partnership’s and for the underlying funds in which they
invest; and brokerage costs incurred by the underlying funds or in certain transactions for the
Gresham Partnerships. No compensation expenses for Gresham Partners or employees are
charged to the Partnerships.
Each Client, former Client or Investor-Only Client that invests in the Gresham Partnerships
indirectly bears their proportional share of the fees and expenses. These fees and expenses are
charged to the relevant Partnership and are not billed directly to the Client. If the above expenses
are incurred jointly for the accounts of a Gresham Partnership and any other Gresham Partnerships
managed by the General Partner or its affiliates, such expenses will generally be allocated among
the Partnership and/or such other Partnerships in proportion to the size of the investment made by
each activity or entity to which the expense relates, or in such other manner as the General Partner
considers fair and reasonable to all of the Gresham Partnerships over time.
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The payment of management fees, performance-based fees, and administrative and operating
expenses at the underlying fund level, and possibly at the sub-fund levels as well as the payment
of administrative and operating expenses incurred by the Gresham Partnerships results in a
layering of fees and significant expenses. Gresham Partnership fees and expenses are disclosed
in reports produced by independent fund administrators, tax return preparers and auditors for the
Gresham Partnerships, and Gresham reports Partnership performance net of these fees and
expenses.
Gresham also recommends that Clients invest in strategies available outside the Gresham
Partnerships when those strategies seem more appropriate. Separately managed accounts, non-
affiliated managed funds, mutual funds and exchange-traded funds (“ETFs”) are subject to
additional fees, commissions and administrative costs that are borne by their investors. Clients’
trading activity in stocks, bonds, mutual funds and ETFs will result in commissions and other
transaction costs in accordance with each Client’s arrangements with its broker/dealer and
custodian, which are further described in Item 12 – Brokerage Practices of this brochure.
Neither Gresham nor any of its Partners or employees accepts any compensation from third parties
in connection with the sale of securities or other investment products.
Item 6. Performance-Based Fees and Side-by-Side Management
When Investor-Only Clients invest in a Gresham Partnership and select a performance-based fee
compensation structure, Gresham may earn performance-based fees based on the performance
of the Gresham Partnership and the capital gains or capital appreciation of these investors’ capital
accounts. Performance-based fees can create an incentive for Gresham to make investments on
behalf of the Gresham Partnerships that are riskier or more speculative than would be the case in
the absence of such an arrangement. Based on the very limited number of investors selecting a
performance-based fee structure (as of 12/31/2024, only two investors have selected this fee
structure), Gresham does not believe it will have an incentive to make riskier or more speculative
investments or to allocate limited investment opportunities to those investors whose fees are based
on the performance of their investment in the Gresham Partnerships.
Gresham Partnerships occasionally have the opportunity to invest directly in securities purchased
by an underlying fund. Such co-investment opportunities are evaluated on a case-by-case basis.
Additionally, from time to time Gresham becomes aware that private funds in which Gresham
Partnerships invest are willing to accept more subscriptions than the Gresham Partnerships wish
to commit. In such cases, Gresham may notify selected Clients or Investor-Only Clients of the
investment opportunity. Although Gresham will always try to treat its Clients fairly over time, these
types of investment opportunities in private funds will be communicated to only certain Clients
based on Gresham’s understanding of its Clients’ investment objectives.
Item 7. Types of Clients
As described in Item 4 – Advisory Business, Gresham primarily provides Clients with integrated
investment and other wealth planning and management services that include the creation of
comprehensive investment, tax, wealth transfer, trust administration and philanthropic strategies
tailored to each Client’s situation. Clients are ultra-high net worth individuals, their families and
family households, as well as their related trusts, estates, retirement plans, family offices, private
trust companies, foundations and endowments. Gresham may accept as Clients certain affiliates
of the underlying management firms in whose funds Gresham Partnerships invest. Clients sign a
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Financial Advisory Agreement that details the nature of investment advisory authority given to
Gresham. Investor-Only Clients invest directly in Gresham’s Partnerships without receiving other
wealth management, consulting or other advisory services. As of 12/31/2024, 94% of the assets in
Gresham’s private Partnerships were owned by Clients and the rest were owned by Investor-Only
Clients.
Gresham generally imposes a minimum annual fee of $180,000 for services it provides to Clients,
but the minimum annual fee may be waived or modified at Gresham’s discretion.
Item 8. Methods of Analysis, Investment Strategies and Risk of Loss
Gresham develops customized investment recommendations for each Client based on a variety of
factors including the client’s net worth, investment objectives, risk tolerance, tax status, liquidity
requirements, and wealth transfer or philanthropic goals. Gresham typically holds several meetings
with each new Client before developing an investment policy statement and recommended asset
allocation. Gresham works carefully to understand each Client’s risk tolerance, but Clients should
understand that all investing involves a risk of loss.
Gresham believes that its Clients can benefit from exposure to alternative asset classes. Investing
directly in hedge funds and private equity and real asset funds, however, can be problematic for
many individuals because certain managers are no longer accepting new investors, they may
require large minimum investments that limit an individual’s ability to diversify, or they have more
restrictive liquidity terms. Furthermore, Gresham believes that the risk and return differential across
hedge funds and private equity and real asset funds is generally greater than the risk and return
differentials across other more conventional asset classes, so the potential benefits of careful fund
selection are amplified.
The Firm conducts extensive initial and ongoing due diligence on the underlying managers that are
chosen for the Gresham Partnerships. Gresham’s due diligence includes, among other things,
reviews of investment strategies, risk monitoring, legal documents and third-party service
providers. Most importantly, Gresham evaluates each manager on how they evaluate and manage
risk, which entails a subjective review of the manager’s investment approach. Gresham tends to
select experienced managers with broad mandates who can take relatively concentrated positions
based on careful fundamental analysis and who tend to have a limit on the amount of capital they
will accept, but other types of managers may be selected. Gresham monitors chosen managers
on an ongoing basis.
Securities and financial instruments in which Clients may invest are subject to change and the
market value of any particular investment may be subject to substantial variation. There is also the
risk that the value of the assets in which a Client account invests may decrease (potentially
dramatically) in response to the prospects of individual companies, particular industry sectors or
governments, changes in interest rates and national and international political and economic
events due to increasingly interconnected global economies and financial markets. There is no
assurance that Client accounts will generate any income or appreciate in value. Investments in
securities of international companies are subject to the risk that world events, including political or
economic upheaval or unrest, natural disasters and government action or inaction could adversely
impact the value of the securities of companies in a particular region or country. Investments may
not have a readily ascertainable market price, and there is no guarantee that the value determined
with respect to a particular investment will represent the value that will be realized on the eventual
disposition or that would, in fact, be realized upon an immediate disposition of the investment.
Adverse changes in market and economic conditions, tax or other laws or regulations or accounting
8
standards may have an adverse effect on Clients and their investments and on the value and
consequences of holding their investments, and it cannot now be predicted whether such changes
will occur and to what extent these changes may adversely affect Clients.
Despite Gresham’s best efforts to identify and retain managers Gresham believes are best-in-
class, investments in the Gresham Partnerships should be considered risky and subject to a variety
of risk factors that are described in detail in each Partnership’s confidential offering materials.
Among other things, interests in the Gresham Partnerships that invest in marketable strategies
have limited liquidity, which currently provides for quarterly withdrawals of up to either 25% or 50%
of the Partnership interest with 65 days prior written notice. Gresham’s marketable-strategy
Partnerships are not traded on secondary markets. Interests in the Gresham Partnerships that are
commitment-based and invest in private, Illiquid strategies do not offer any liquidity and often have
a life of twelve or more years. Investors in the Partnerships that invest in private strategies are
responsible for commitment payments that can last throughout the life of the Partnership.
Furthermore, if faced with significant withdrawal or redemption requests, Gresham Partnerships
may suspend or delay redemption payments. Some underlying funds in which the Gresham
Partnerships invest may trade frequently, which can reduce performance through greater tax
liabilities and transaction costs. Underlying funds may also take relatively concentrated positions
in certain securities, and the Gresham Partnerships may have relatively concentrated positions in
certain underlying funds. There can be no assurance that a Partnership’s investment objective will
be achieved or that an investor will receive a return on its capital. Investing in securities involves
risk of loss that Clients should be prepared to bear.
Gresham relies on valuations provided by the underlying Gresham Partnership managers when
calculating performance of its Partnerships. Although Gresham reviews the valuation procedures
used by Gresham Partnership managers, the Firm is not able to confirm or review the accuracy of
such valuations. Illiquid, non-marketable assets such as private equity, real estate and other real
assets can be difficult to value based on the nature of the underlying assets. Valuations for the
underlying investments in these illiquid Partnerships normally lag by one quarter or more. Gresham
maintains a valuation committee to oversee its non-marketable Partnership valuations.
Cybersecurity - Risk of Loss of Client Data
Investment advisers, including Gresham, must rely in part on digital and network technologies
("cyber networks") to maintain substantial computerized data about activities for client accounts
and to otherwise conduct their business. Such cyber networks might in some circumstances be
subject to a variety of possible cybersecurity incidents or similar events that could potentially result
in the inadvertent disclosure of confidential computerized data or Client data to unintended parties,
or the intentional misappropriation or destruction of data by malicious hackers seeking to
compromise sensitive information, corrupt data or cause operational disruption. Cyber-attacks
might potentially be carried out by persons using techniques that could range from efforts to
electronically circumvent network security or overwhelm websites to intelligence gathering and
social engineering functions aimed at obtaining information necessary to gain access.
Gresham maintains policies and procedures on information technology security, it has technical
and physical safeguards intended to protect the confidentiality of its internal data, and it takes other
reasonable precautions to limit the potential for cybersecurity incidents and to protect data from
inadvertent disclosure or wrongful misappropriation or destruction. Nevertheless, despite
reasonable precautions, the risk remains that cybersecurity incidents may occur and such
incidents, in some circumstances, might result in unauthorized access to sensitive information
9
about Gresham or its Clients, and/or cause damage to client accounts or Gresham's activities for
Clients.
Gresham will seek to notify affected Clients of any known cybersecurity incident that may pose a
substantial risk of exposing confidential personal data about such Clients to unintended parties.
Force Majeure
Client portfolio investments may be affected by force majeure events (i.e., events beyond the
control of the party claiming that the event has occurred, including, without limitation, acts of God,
fire, flood, earthquakes, outbreaks of an infectious disease, pandemic or any other serious public
health concern, war, terrorism, labor strikes, major plant breakdowns, pipeline or electricity line
ruptures, failure of technology, defective design and construction, accidents, demographic
changes, government macroeconomic policies, social instability, etc.). Some force majeure events
may adversely affect the ability of a party to perform its obligations until it is able to remedy the
force majeure event. These risks could, among other effects, adversely impact the cash flows
available from companies or partnerships in which Gresham may invest, cause personal injury or
loss of life, damage property, or instigate disruptions of service. In addition, the cost to these
investments of repairing or replacing damaged assets resulting from such force majeure event
could be considerable. Force majeure events that are incapable of or are too costly to cure may
have a permanent adverse effect on any investment held by Client accounts. Certain force majeure
events (such as war or an outbreak of an infectious disease) could have a broader negative impact
on the world economy and international business activity generally, or in any of the countries in
which Gresham may invest.
Work From Home
In response to the spread of COVID-19, many businesses, including Gresham, have encouraged
or mandated that their personnel work from home in an effort to help slow the spread of the
coronavirus pandemic. Notwithstanding such precautionary measures, Gresham may still
experience a significant increase in illness of their respective personnel. Work-at-home
arrangements could also lead to employee fatigue, reduced collaboration and less optimal
communication and supervision relative to traditional office structures which could severely impair
our and/or such service providers' operational capabilities, potentially having a detrimental impact
on our business and operations. To the extent personnel, as a result of working remotely, rely more
heavily on external sources for information and technology systems for their business-related
communications and information sharing, that business will likely be more vulnerable to
cybersecurity incidents and cyberattacks and could have more difficulty resuming normal
operations in the event it is the target of such incident or attack.
Item 9. Disciplinary Information
Neither Gresham nor any of its Partners or employees have been involved in any legal or
disciplinary events that would be material to a Client or prospective client’s evaluation of the Firm
or its Partners or employees.
Item 10. Other Financial Industry Activities and Affiliations
Gresham Advisors, LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Gresham, serves as the general partner
and investment adviser to the Gresham Partnerships in which Gresham’s Clients and Investor-
Only Clients invest. These Partnerships are not made available to the general public and only
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Gresham Clients and qualified Partners and employees are allowed to invest in them. The
Gresham Partnerships are listed below:
Gresham Marketable Partnerships
GP Diversified Growth Strategies, L.P.
GP Emerging Markets Strategies, L.P.
GP Global Equity Strategies, L.P.
GP Low Volatility Hedged Strategies, L.P. (master fund)
GP Opportunistic Growth Strategies, L.P. (master fund)
GP Opportunistic Growth Strategies Offshore Ltd. (feeder fund)
Gresham Low Volatility Hedged Strategies Offshore, Ltd. (feeder fund)
Gresham Commitment-Based Partnerships
GP Buyout Fund, L.P.
GP China Venture Capital, L.P.
GP China Venture Capital II, L.P.
GP China Venture Capital III, L.P.
GP Global Venture Capital, L.P., and its series
Gresham China Opportunities Fund I, L.P.
Gresham Direct Access Manager Program, L.L.C., and its series
Gresham Private Equity Fund I, L.P.
Gresham Private Equity Fund II, L.P.
Gresham Private Equity Strategies, L.P., and its series
Gresham Real Assets Strategies, L.P., and its series
Gresham Real Estate Partners II, L.P.
Gresham Real Estate Partners III, L.P.
Item 11. Code of Ethics, Participation or Interest in Client Transactions and Personal
Trading
Gresham has adopted a written Code of Ethics (the “Code”) for all Partners and employees that
includes policies and procedures governing their conduct and addressing the Firm’s fiduciary duty
to its clients.
Among other things, the Code requires Partners and employees to:
Act as fiduciaries, putting the interests of clients ahead of the interests of the Firm and its
Partners and employees, and fully disclosing any material conflicts of interest;
Comply with all applicable laws and regulations;
Periodically report personal securities transactions;
Adhere to procedures for trading in public company securities; and
Promptly report any suspected violations of the Code to the Chief Compliance Officer.
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Upon commencement of employment and annually thereafter, all Partners and employees must
acknowledge their receipt of, understanding of, and agreement to adhere to the Code. A copy of
Gresham’s Code is available to current and prospective clients upon request.
As described above, Gresham normally recommends that Clients invest in the Gresham
Partnerships. To the extent that former Clients or certain Investor-Only Clients remain invested or
invest in one or more Gresham Partnerships, those former Clients or Investor-Only Clients will bear
a management fee, and in certain cases, a performance-based fee that is charged through the
relevant Partnerships. Gresham does not believe that the fee arrangements for former clients or
Investor-Only Clients pose a conflict of interest. Under Gresham’s allocation policy, where a limited
investment opportunity is appropriate for Gresham Partnerships, the opportunity is to be allocated
fairly and equitably in accordance with the respective Clients’ investment objectives, available
capital and other appropriate considerations. Gresham monitors the implementation of its
allocation policy to ensure that these objectives are being met.
Gresham’s Partners, employees, and their family members invest personally in the Gresham
Partnerships. Partners, employees, and their family members do not pay any fees to Gresham in
connection with their investments in the Gresham Partnerships, but they otherwise invest on the
same terms as Clients and bear their proportionate share of Partnership expenses. Gresham
Partners, employees, and their family members may also invest personally in securities that are
held by (a) the underlying funds in which the Gresham Partnerships invest, and/or (b) directly by
Clients. Partners and employees are strictly prohibited from trading based on material non-public
information and from taking any investment opportunity away from any Client. Gresham’s Chief
Compliance Officer reviews personal trading reports for Partners, employees, and their immediate
family members on a quarterly basis.
Item 12. Brokerage Practices
Gresham recommends Fidelity Investments (“Fidelity”) for non-discretionary Clients who need a
custodial account and/or brokerage account. Gresham may be directed by the Client to process
transactions in their Fidelity account with Client authorization. For discretionary Clients, Gresham
requests that the Client open an account with Fidelity. Fidelity acts as custodian of the account and
requires Client authorization to move assets to third parties.
Gresham does not receive any payment, products, research, or services (i.e., “soft dollars”) as a
benefit for its recommendation of custodial or brokerage services provided by Fidelity. However,
Gresham has received services from Fidelity that are ancillary to maintenance of the custodial
accounts for Clients at no cost to the Clients or Gresham. Gresham feels that it has negotiated
terms at least as favorable to what the Clients would be able to negotiate on their own.
Fidelity generally does not charge its advisory clients separately for custody services but is
compensated by account holders through commissions and other transaction-related or asset-
based fees for securities trades that are executed through Fidelity or that settle into Fidelity
accounts (i.e., transactions fees are charged for certain no-load mutual funds, commissions are
charged for individual equity and debt securities transactions). Fidelity provides access to many
no-load mutual funds without transaction charges and other no-load funds at nominal transaction
charges.
Gresham does not normally trade individual securities on a discretionary basis for Clients, so the
Firm does not normally aggregate transactions on behalf of multiple clients. Although Gresham
does not recommend individual securities to its Clients, Gresham periodically receives stock
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distributions from the Gresham Partnership fund investments that it then distributes to Clients’
custodial accounts, and sometimes Gresham may have a large block of ETFs to trade across
multiple Clients’ accounts. In these circumstances, Gresham may aggregate the orders and then
allocate each Client its pro-rata share of the proceeds, or use other methods Gresham deems to
be fair and equitable to all such Clients. These sales will be transacted on a non-discretionary basis
and Clients will be required to authorize the sale of the security prior to processing. If authorization
is not received from a Client in a timely manner, that Client may receive a price different from the
price received by other Clients because its trade will be processed at a different time due to a delay
in Gresham’s receipt of trading authorization.
Broker Selection for Gresham Partnerships
As general partner of the Gresham Partnerships, Gresham selects brokers to effect certain
transactions in those Partnerships. Although most investments in the Gresham Partnerships are
managed by unaffiliated third-party managers, at certain times Gresham receives a stock
distribution or needs to purchase an ETF or implement another type of security transaction on
behalf of a Partnership it manages. Gresham is not affiliated with any broker, so Gresham selects
unaffiliated third-party brokers to execute all such transactions. Gresham receives no form of
compensation, monetary or non-monetary, for selecting any broker and, therefore, has no soft
dollar arrangement or other incentive to select one broker over another.
Gresham has complete discretion in determining the brokers the Gresham Partnerships use and
in negotiating the brokerage commission rates. The majority of holdings in Gresham Partnerships
that are not managed by unaffiliated third-party managers are maintained at an unaffiliated third-
party custodian and Gresham Partnerships will often use the broker affiliated with the custodian to
process trades. Gresham feels it has negotiated competitive commission rates and receives quality
execution services through that selected broker. However, there are times when Gresham
determines it to be more beneficial to the Gresham Partnerships to execute a transaction with
different brokers at a higher cost based on other qualifying factors, such as the size and type of
transaction, timing of execution, nature of the relevant markets on which the transaction will be
executed, and other factors affecting the transaction.
Item 13. Review of Accounts
Review of Client Accounts
Gresham’s advisory services are tailored to the needs of each Client, so the steps described below
should be viewed as guidelines. Typically, one or more members of Gresham’s Client Service
Team (“Advisors”) meet with each new Client several times prior to establishing a set of investment
objectives. The information developed during these meetings, along with each Client’s wealth
transfer and philanthropic goals, forms the basis for the Client’s investment policy statement(s).
Gresham’s Advisors work with each Client to develop a financial plan, and then the investment
policy statement(s), financial plan, holdings and performance are reviewed with the Client generally
two to four times per year. Gresham may review a Client’s account more frequently, particularly if
the Client experiences a significant financial or life event. Gresham provides most Clients with
quarterly written reports that address market and economic developments as well as information
about the Client’s objectives, holdings and returns. However, the frequency and format of Client
reports can be adjusted depending on each Client’s needs.
Review of Investor-Only Clients’ Accounts; Gresham Partnership Communications
Clients, former Clients and Investor-Only Clients who invest in the Gresham Partnerships that
invest in marketable strategies receive quarterly statements from the Partnership Administrator.
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For illiquid, commitment-based Gresham Partnerships, all investors receive periodic valuations and
information pertaining to the underlying investments in capital call and distribution notifications. All
Clients invested in the Gresham Partnerships receive an annual audited financial statement for the
Partnership prepared by an independent, unaffiliated Certified Public Accounting firm. Gresham
does not review Investor-Only Clients’ accounts with them on a quarterly basis or other regular
schedule, but reviews are arranged individually with them to meet their needs.
Review of the Gresham Partnerships’ Accounts
Gresham monitors the holdings and performance of each Gresham Partnership on an ongoing
basis. The Firm seeks to confirm that chosen managers are investing in accordance with their
respective mandates and that each Partnership’s capital is allocated appropriately. Gresham
conducts periodic reviews of each of the Partnerships’ substantive holdings, but more frequent
reviews may be prompted by market or economic developments, unexpected over or under-
performance, or a material announcement by an underlying fund’s investment adviser. These
reviews are overseen by Gresham’s Chief Investment Officer and senior members of Gresham’s
Investment Management team. With respect to each Gresham Partnership, each investor will be
provided information necessary for tax reporting. On an annual basis, Clients and Investor-Only
Clients are sent their Partnership’s annual financial statements.
Item 14. Client Referrals and Other Compensation
Gresham does not compensate any third party for client referrals. Gresham does not receive any
compensation from any third party in connection with the provision of investment advice to its
Clients or other types of advice to its Clients.
Item 15. Custody
As general partner of the Gresham Partnerships, Gresham is deemed to have custody of assets
managed on a discretionary basis in those Partnerships. To abide by Rule 206(4)-2 under the
Advisers Act (the “Custody Rule”), Gresham Partnerships are audited annually by an unaffiliated
auditor, and those audits are prepared in accordance with generally accepted accounting principles
and are delivered to each investor in the Partnership.
For assets managed outside the Gresham Partnerships, Gresham is deemed to have custody in
certain circumstances whereby Gresham is the appointed investment adviser under certain
discretionary or trust agreements or when Clients maintain Standing Letters of Authorization to
move money under their agreements with Fidelity. These assets under advisement are held by
unaffiliated managers or other unaffiliated investment advisers or qualified custodians that are not
affiliated with Gresham. Qualified custodians, which include Fidelity, provide Clients with
statements showing all trades, holdings and other transactions at least quarterly. Gresham urges
Clients to carefully review and compare the statements provided by their custodians or unaffiliated
fund managers with the reports provided by the Firm. In cases where Gresham is deemed to have
custody as an appointed investment adviser under certain discretionary and trust agreements, and
where Clients maintain Standing Letters of Authorization directed to Gresham’s Partnerships,
Gresham engages a third-party, unaffiliated auditor to conduct an annual surprise asset verification
examination.
Gresham is also deemed to have custody based on authority Clients grant it to auto-debit quarterly
fees from their custodial accounts with Fidelity. In those cases, Gresham also complies with the
requirements of the Custody Rule; however, these accounts are not subject to the surprise asset
verification examination.
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Item 16. Investment Discretion
Gresham has discretionary authority over the Gresham Partnerships as described in each
Partnership’s operating agreement and confidential offering materials.
Gresham provides both discretionary and non-discretionary investment advisory services for its
Clients’ assets based on each Client’s preference. In cases of non-discretionary investment
recommendations, Clients review and approve each investment transaction.
In cases where Gresham has investment discretion over a Client’s assets, the Firm has
discretionary authority to set and adjust the allocation of certain assets to various Gresham
Partnerships, unaffiliated managed funds, separately managed accounts and direct-access
managers, and to make discretionary transactions that impact the Client’s allocation to cash,
mutual funds and ETFs in the Client’s custodial account. This authority is described in written
agreements between each such Client and Gresham.
Item 17. Voting Client Securities
The Gresham Partnerships invest predominantly in unaffiliated private funds rather than publicly
traded securities, so the Firm does not exercise proxy voting authority in the conventional sense.
From time to time, private fund managers seek consent from Gresham and other investors in their
funds. Gresham’s investment professionals will carefully evaluate all such proposals and seek to
act in the affected Partnership’s best interests. To the extent that such a proposal creates a material
conflict of interest between the Firm and the Partnerships, Gresham will consult with outside legal
counsel about the appropriate course of action.
For discretionary Client accounts, it is Gresham’s policy to vote proxies for all mutual fund and
ETFs purchased on a discretionary basis for the Client pursuant to Gresham’s discretionary
authority. Gresham is charged with identifying the proxies upon which the Firm will vote, voting the
proxies in the best interests of the discretionary Clients, and submitting the proxies promptly and
properly.
Our policy is to vote proxies for mutual fund and ETF positions managed under discretion by
Gresham in the interest of maximizing shareholder value. To that end, the Firm will vote in a way
that it believes, consistent with its fiduciary duty, will cause the investment to increase the most or
decline the least in value. Consideration will be given to both the short and long-term implications
of the proposal to be voted on when considering the optimal vote.
The Firm currently has not identified any potential conflicts of interest between its discretionary
Clients’ interests and our own interests within our proxy voting process. Nevertheless, if we
determine that the Firm is facing a material conflict of interest in voting a proxy, our procedures
provide for us to inform any affected discretionary Clients of the potential conflict in advance and
mutually agree on an acceptable manner of handling the potential conflict.
In certain instances, Client accounts hold non-discretionary equity securities that are not managed
by Gresham. Gresham will not be responsible for voting proxies for such non-discretionary
securities.
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Should Gresham inadvertently receive proxy or class action information for non-discretionary
securities held in Client accounts, Gresham will immediately forward such information to the Client
and will not take any further action with respect to the voting of such proxy or class action.
If multiple Clients hold the same equity, Gresham may only receive one proxy notice, which would
prevent the Firm from forwarding the notice to each Client since the Firm cannot forward a single
notice to multiple Clients. Since equity positions are not managed by Gresham, the Firm will
consider these positions as immaterial to the implementation of the Client’s investment strategies
and will abstain from voting the proxies in question.
Upon termination of our FAA with a Client, we shall make good faith and reasonable attempts to
forward proxy information inadvertently received by us on behalf of the Client using the forwarding
address provided by the Client.
Gresham’s proxy voting policy and procedures are available upon request.
Item 18. Financial Information
Gresham Partners has never filed for bankruptcy nor been the subject of a bankruptcy petition and
is not aware of any financial condition that is reasonably likely to impair its ability to meet contractual
commitments to Clients.
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