Core Entities of Alternative Investment Banking

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🧠 Introduction

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Alternative Investment Banking involves structured, private, and complex investments — like hedge funds, private equity, real estate funds, and private credit.

For someone entering this world, terms like GP, LP, custodian, valuation agent, and prime broker can be intimidating. But in reality, all these roles fall under eight core categories that form the backbone of any alternative investment transaction.

🧱 The 8 Core Entities and Their Extended Roles

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What is a CUSIP? What are the Alternatives?

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CUSIP stands for Committee on Uniform Securities Identification Procedures. It is a 9-character alphanumeric code used in the United States to uniquely identify financial instruments (like stocks, bonds, mutual funds). CUSIPs are assigned by CUSIP Global Services (owned by S&P). A Citibank bond might have a CUSIP like 17325FBA5

Alternatives to CUSIP (Globally):

Market Entities

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The “Market” in the core entities refers to where securities are traded or priced, and can include both public exchanges and private markets.

• Private Deal Platforms for PE/VC
• Bond Markets (OTC or electronic)
• Crypto Exchanges (in some contexts)

Example of Public Market Entities

Security Identifcation in India

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India uses a combination of ISINs, symbol codes, and other identifiers for securities, depending on the context and system.

✅ 1. ISIN (International Securities Identification Number)

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• Primary identifier used in India for all securities: equities, bonds, debentures, mutual funds, commercial papers, etc.

• Follows the global ISO 6166 standard.

• Format: 12 characters Example: INE009A01021

  • IN → Country code for India
  • E009A → Issuer code (assigned by NSDL)
  • 01021 → Security-specific ID

Who assigns it in India? ISINs are issued by NSDL (National Securities Depository Limited), designated by SEBI as the National Numbering Agency (NNA) for India.

✅ 2. Stock Symbols (Ticker Codes)

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• Short codes used on stock exchanges (NSE, BSE) for trading.
• Assigned by the exchange itself.

  Stock Name	NSE Symbol	BSE Code
  Infosys	INFY	500209
  Reliance	RELIANCE	500325
  HDFC Bank	HDFCBANK	500180

✅ 3. NSE/BSE Listing ID and Series Codes

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• NSE and BSE also assign internal IDs, trading series codes, and listing identifiers for derivative contracts, debt instruments, etc.

• Example:

  • Equity segment: EQ
  • SME segment: SM
  • Debt segment: N1, N2, etc.

🔁 Comparison Table: Global vs. India

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In Summary,

• In India, the ISIN is the official identifier for securities — just like the CUSIP in the U.S.
• NSDL (on behalf of SEBI) is responsible for issuing ISINs.
• For exchange trading, NSE/BSE ticker codes are used for simplicity.
• SEBI regulates the whole identification ecosystem to ensure investor protection and transparency.

🗺️ How These Entities Interact

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🧩 Key Takeaways

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• The 8 core categories are still relevant and complete.
• Most additional entities you encounter (administrator, trustee, legal, tax, etc.) are just specialized roles under these categories.
• Understanding this structure simplifies everything from investment analysis to regulatory compliance and automated document processing.

📚 Conclusion

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Alternative Investment Banking is a multi-layered ecosystem, but it always boils down to 8 key types of roles. Every hedge fund, private equity deal, or real estate investment will involve some combination of:

👉 An investor funding the capital 👉 A manager making the investment decisions 👉 A security backed by an issuer 👉 A custodian holding the asset 👉 A market assigning value 👉 An auditor ensuring accuracy 👉 A compliance/legal team making sure it’s all above board

Once you grasp these building blocks, the world of alternative investments becomes far less intimidating — and much more exciting.