“The Secret to a Stable Personal Fund Lies in Its Documents.” A Column by Marina Zakharova for Kommersant
Marina Zakharova, advocate and Managing Partner at Asari Legal, spoke with Kommersant Business Guide about the intricacies of preparing documentation for personal funds — and which issues deserve particular attention, from governance structures to the designation of beneficiaries.
The key advantage of a personal fund is the flexibility it gives the founder: they decide who manages the fund, who benefits from it, and on what terms. Yet this very flexibility can conceal legal pitfalls: vague charter provisions or loosely drafted management rules may lead to conflicts between beneficiaries and managers, operational deadlocks, or even the dissolution of the fund. In practice, the key to a fund’s stability lies in how its documents are drafted.
“Work on the documentation always begins with the most important question — understanding why the fund is being created. The founder’s goals shape everything else: which assets are transferred to the fund, how income from those assets will be distributed, and how the governance system will be structured,” emphasizes Marina Zakharova.
How can assets be protected and transferred into the fund securely?
Who can become a beneficiary of a personal fund, and under what conditions?
How should the fund’s governance be organized?