A managing agent is a company set up to manage one or more syndicates, on behalf of the members who provide the capital. The managing agent employs the underwriting staff and handles the day-to-day running of a syndicate’s infrastructure and operations. Often a single corporate group will manage and fund a syndicate, thereby aligning the management and capital provision. For other syndicates, a number of different members – which can include both private capital and corporate groups – not connected with the managing agent provide the capital (these are known as ‘unaligned’ syndicates). New syndicates are often established under a ‘turnkey’ model, where an existing managing agent establishes and manages the syndicate on behalf of a third party capital provider. After a period of time, the capital provider may seek regulatory approval to establish their own managing agent.