Gate Provision: What It Is and How It Works

What is a gate provision?

A gate provision is a clause in a fund’s offering documents or prospectus that gives the fund manager the right to limit or temporarily halt redemptions. It is designed to protect the fund and remaining investors when a large volume of redemption requests would force the manager to liquidate assets in unfavorable or illiquid markets.

Why funds use gate provisions

Protect against runs: Prevents a rush of redemptions that could destabilize the fund or destroy value.
Preserve portfolio strategy: Allows managers time to unwind complex or illiquid positions without being forced into fire-sales.
Manage liquidity mismatch: Useful when a fund’s underlying assets are not readily convertible to cash.

How a gate provision works in practice

Trigger and discretion: The offering documents typically describe triggers or scenarios, but the decision to invoke a gate often rests with the fund manager.
Notification: When invoked, managers generally notify investors in writing, explaining the rationale and detailing any limits on redemptions or distributions.
Legal and governance steps: Invoking a gate is a serious action that commonly involves consultation with legal counsel and compliance with the fund’s governing agreements.
Unequal application: Some investors (for example, institutional investors or preferred clients) may have side letters that exempt them from gates, meaning not all capital in the fund is necessarily subject to the restriction.

Practical implications for investors

Liquidity risk: Investors should recognize that their ability to redeem may be restricted under certain conditions.
Due diligence: Review the prospectus and offering documents to understand the specific terms, triggers, and any investor-specific exemptions.
Trust and governance concerns: Because invocation is discretionary, it can raise questions about manager judgment and alignment with investor interests.
Market behavior: The presence of a gate can influence investor behavior—knowing redemptions may be limited can affect confidence and secondary-market pricing.

Example

A well-known illustration is the case popularized in The Big Short: a manager invoked a gate to prevent redemptions so positions betting against the housing market could remain intact until the market crisis materialized. The positions later generated substantial gains for investors who remained invested, but the invocation was uncomfortable for those who temporarily could not access their capital.

Key takeaways

Gate provisions are safeguards that restrict redemptions to protect funds from forced, value-destructive liquidations.
Terms vary by fund; read offering documents carefully to understand triggers, duration, and exemptions.
Invocation is discretionary and can have significant liquidity and governance implications for investors.
Some funds limit or eliminate gate provisions if most capital is exempt or if investor expectations favor greater liquidity.