--- title: "A Side-Letter Checklist for Latin American Investors: What’s Standard, What’s Negotiable" description: Navigate the complexities of side letters for Latin American investors, distinguishing between standard terms and negotiable clauses to enhance investment outcomes. image: https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/hubfs/SIDE-LETTER%20CHECKLIST%204.3.png --- [Skip to content](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/publication/a-side-letter-checklist-for-latin-american-investors-whats-standard-whats-negotiable#main-content) [![cardonal-logo-horizontal-stalactite](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/hubfs/Brand/cardonal-logo-horizontal-stalactite.svg)](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/home?hsLang=en) - [Home](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/home?hsLang=en) - [Practice Areas](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/practice-areas?hsLang=en) - [Fund Investment Advisory](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/fund-investment-advisory?hsLang=en) - [Side Letter Negotiation](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/side-letter-negotiation?hsLang=en) - [Regulatory & Compliance](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/regulatory-compliance?hsLang=en) - [Tax Advisory](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/tax-advisory?hsLang=en) - [Fund & Vehicle Structuring](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/fund-vehicle-structuring?hsLang=en) - [Subscription & Onboarding](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/subscription-onboarding?hsLang=en) - [Team](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/team?hsLang=en) - [Publications](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/publication/?hsLang=en) - [Get in Touch](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/contact-us?hsLang=en) - [EN](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/publication/a-side-letter-checklist-for-latin-american-investors-whats-standard-whats-negotiable) / [ES](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/es) Open menu [![cardonal-logo-horizontal-stalactite](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/hubfs/Brand/cardonal-logo-horizontal-stalactite.svg)](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/home?hsLang=en) Close menu [Home](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/home?hsLang=en) Practice Areas [Fund Investment Advisory](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/fund-investment-advisory?hsLang=en) [Side Letter Negotiation](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/side-letter-negotiation?hsLang=en) [Regulatory & Compliance](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/regulatory-compliance?hsLang=en) [Tax Advisory](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/tax-advisory?hsLang=en) [Fund & Vehicle Structuring](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/fund-vehicle-structuring?hsLang=en) [Subscription & Onboarding](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/subscription-onboarding?hsLang=en) [Team](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/team?hsLang=en) [Publications](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/publication/?hsLang=en) [Get in Touch](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/en/contact-us?hsLang=en) [EN](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/publication/a-side-letter-checklist-for-latin-american-investors-whats-standard-whats-negotiable) / [ES](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/es) Investors EN / ES # A Side-Letter Checklist for Latin American Investors: What’s Standard, What’s Negotiable ![DUE DILIGENCE QUESTIONNAIRE 4.3](https://www.cardonalconsulting.com/hubfs/DUE%20DILIGENCE%20QUESTIONNAIRE%204.3.png) ### The Struggling Moment It is 11 PM. Sebastián, a family office CIO, is reviewing a 45-page side letter for a top-tier US PE fund. His generalist corporate counsel has marked 18 clauses as "unusual and risky." The problem? Sebastián knows at least a dozen of them are entirely standard for this asset class. Because his counsel doesn’t review PE funds daily, Sebastián is left guessing which clauses are actually worth fighting over. ## What is Standard (and Non-Negotiable) Certain elements of a side letter are structural. Basic reporting cadences, standard confidentiality carve-outs, and vanilla Most Favored Nation (MFN) language are generally set in stone. Pushing back heavily on these wastes goodwill and legal fees. A specialized advisor knows when a GP is simply holding the line on market standard vs. being unnecessarily rigid. ## What is Genuinely Negotiable On the other hand, certain items absolutely warrant a negotiation. Tiered fee breaks based on commitment size, specific co-investment rights, and nuanced key-person triggers are highly negotiable. For a Latin American investor, securing specific reporting formats to satisfy local regulatory compliance (if part of a broader institutional pool) is a battle worth having. ## Using Precedent and MFN Clauses The strongest leverage a family office has is precedent. If an AFP or a large institutional LP has already negotiated favorable reporting frequency or fee structures, MFN provisions allow you to ride their coattails (assuming you meet the commitment thresholds). Understanding what other LPs are demanding gives you a clear benchmark for your own requests. ## The Hidden Obligations of "Concessions" Sometimes a GP will readily agree to a specific request. Beware the hidden obligation. If a GP grants you a unique right, it might trigger an MFN cascade for other LPs, making the GP suddenly pull back at the 11th hour when their counsel realizes the broader impact. Knowing the mechanics of MFN prevents these late-stage blowups. ## The Limits of Generalist Counsel A brilliant corporate lawyer is not necessarily a brilliant fund formation lawyer. Generalists evaluate contracts based on standard commercial risk. PE side letters operate on an entirely different spectrum of risk and industry precedent. Without seeing dozens of side letters a year, a generalist cannot effectively benchmark your terms. In this article ## What Cardonal does in this context We help family offices and investors compare their side letters directly against market standards before they sign, separating standard boilerplate from genuine risks. COPY PENDING — website variant of the closing line. The article as written ends with a direct-message ask, which was drafted for LinkedIn. 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