Section 09 — Legal & Compliance

Legal Framework

Structure · Agreements · Compliance

AlgoGators is structured to protect its members while maintaining operational flexibility. Every member must understand and comply with these principles.

Core Disclaimer

Always Apply — No Exceptions

AlgoGators' activities are for educational purposes only and do not constitute investment advice. Do not represent our signals or research as investment recommendations to any external party.

Legal Structure

Non-Profit Corporation

AlgoGators is incorporated as a non-profit corporation at the state level. We do not hold federal non-profit (501c3) status. This structure allows focus on our educational mission while maintaining organizational independence from the university.

Liability Protection

The non-profit corporate structure shields individual members from personal liability for fund-related risks and losses. You are a member of an incorporated entity — not personally liable for fund operations, provided you act within your defined role.

Board of Directors

Governance is overseen by the Board of Directors, which currently includes Dustin Hebrank and Patrick Bott. The Board provides strategic guidance, reviews major decisions, and ensures adherence to the fund's mission.

Operational Focus

All fund activities and resources must align with our educational objectives. Decisions that stray from the educational mission require Board approval.

Participation Agreement

Every member of AlgoGators is required to sign a Participation Agreement before accessing fund systems, data, or strategies. The agreement covers:

Where to Sign

Participation Agreements are administered by the President at onboarding. If you have not signed, contact the President immediately. You should not have access to live systems without a signed agreement on file.

Open-Source Commitment

GNU General Public License v3 (GPL v3)

All tools, systems, and code developed by AlgoGators — including trade-ngin, data-ngin, and AlgoLens — are released under GPL v3. This means:

  • Users may: freely use, modify, and distribute the software.
  • Required: any derivative works must also be open-source under GPL v3.
  • Purpose: to democratize quantitative finance tooling and contribute to the academic/open-source community.

Strategy logic (the signals themselves) may be kept confidential as proprietary research, separate from the infrastructure code that is open-sourced.

Compliance Rules

Long-Term Sustainability

Endowment Goal

AlgoGators aims to establish a financial reserve (endowment) to support operational expenses, infrastructure, and scholarships. Subscription revenue and donor contributions are the primary paths to endowment growth.

Governance Review

Legal documentation and governance policies are reviewed periodically by the Board. Members should raise concerns about policy gaps through the President. The handbook is updated annually at minimum.

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