A Master SPC is the parent legal entity that houses multiple segregated portfolios, providing unified regulatory registration, governance, compliance infrastructure, and service provider relationships for all contained portfolios.
What Is a Master SPC?
A Master SPC (or "umbrella SPC") is the parent Segregated Portfolio Company that functions as the single regulated legal entity encompassing all segregated portfolios. It holds regulatory registrations with Cayman Islands authorities, maintains the board of directors, establishes compliance and governance frameworks, engages service providers (administrators, auditors, custodians), and provides the operational infrastructure shared by all subordinate segregated portfolios. The Master SPC itself does not manage investments; rather, it provides the institutional chassis within which multiple investment managers or strategies operate.
How Does a Master SPC Structure Work?
The Master SPC files all regulatory documentation with authorities and holds all licenses and registrations. Individual segregated portfolios register as distinct entities within this master structure, leveraging the parent company's regulatory status. The Master SPC's board establishes governance policies, compliance procedures, and risk management frameworks applicable to all portfolios. Service providers (fund administrators, auditors) are engaged at the Master SPC level, streamlining administration and reducing redundancy. Each segregated portfolio operates its investment strategy independently while benefiting from the unified infrastructure, similar to how multiple subsidiaries operate under a parent holding company.
Why Is a Master SPC Structure Important?
For institutional investors and allocators, Master SPCs provide assurance that all contained portfolios operate under a unified, professionally-managed governance framework. The structure allows emerging managers to access institutional-grade infrastructure without duplicating costs. For platforms like Confluence, a Master SPC enables dozens of talented managers to launch regulated, audit-ready funds rapidly, dramatically compressing timelines from months to weeks.
Example: Master SPC in Practice
Confluence Group operates a Master SPC registered in Cayman Islands. Within this structure, 40+ emerging managers have launched their own segregated portfolios, each managing different strategies (systematic trading, discretionary macro, quantitative strategies, trend-following, market-neutral approaches). All portfolios share Confluence's compliance officers, fund administrator relationship, external auditor, and governance board. Each manager's segregated portfolio operates independently, different fee structures, investor bases, and performance, yet benefits from Confluence's institutional infrastructure, regulatory standing, and third-party service provider relationships established at the Master SPC level.
When Is a Master SPC Structure Beneficial?
Master SPCs excel for:
Fund platforms seeking to support multiple emerging managers efficiently
Creating institutional infrastructure that scales across many portfolios without complexity multiplication
Allocators wanting to access diverse strategies under one professionally-governed umbrella
Reducing individual manager operational burden while maintaining independent fund control
Tell us your strategy and our 5-minute form gets you moving. We handle the setup, legal, and onboarding. You get a launch plan tailored for you, and your fund can go live in as little as 4 weeks.
