Investment Management

Fund Formation
Investment Management Transactions

With its deep experience, profound understanding of the marketplace and regulatory insight, our Investment Management Group has built a stellar reputation in the industry. From traditional buyout funds to innovative hedge and hybrid funds, our lawyers have created a top-tier investment management practice that blends sound counsel with fresh perspectives on every facet of fund formation and investment management transactions. Foremost among our strengths are:

a group of investment management lawyers that have established a strong record of creative product development;
close working relationships with our clients and leadership roles in the development of market terms;
a detailed and extensive proprietary database that, with the help of a dedicated knowledge manager, captures current market terms and also
provides the tools to ensure the efficient delivery of services in our day-to-day investment management practice; and
a full-service team that leverages our knowledge base with insights into regulatory and market developments gained from our interaction with a wide network of industry participants to add significant value for our clients.

We have particular expertise in tax, ERISA and executive compensation issues as they pertain to investment funds. Our tax lawyers are expert in partnership taxation and the tax rules applicable to non-U.S. and U.S. tax-exempt investors. We regularly obtain assistance, as needed, from lawyers in our Securities, Finance, Mergers and Acquisitions and Personal Representation Practice Groups, as well as our world-class Litigation Department.

Fund Formation
Our Investment Management Group has been involved in all aspects of structuring and bringing to market hundreds of private investment funds representing commitments in excess of $200 billion. Our investment fund clients encompass all of the major categories of private equity funds, hedge funds and other alternative asset managers. Some of the many funds we assist in forming are: buyout funds, hedge funds, hybrid funds, distressed funds, mezzanine funds, sponsorship funds, venture capital funds, co-investment funds and funds of funds.

Our lawyers help raise some of the largest private equity and hedge funds in the marketplace. We also represent some of the first hybrid funds, pioneering the convergence of investment objectives, structures and terms in the investment funds marketplace. During the past few years, we have assisted international funds targeted at Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America, as well as a diverse group of investors from around the globe.

Representative Funds

Buyout Funds: we represent the sponsors of numerous well-known buyout funds. Over the past few years, we have raised or are in the process of raising some of the largest buyout funds in the marketplace. We work closely with our private equity lawyers to assist funds after closing as they seek to build value in their portfolio companies through strategies such as operating improvements, acquisitions and joint ventures.
Hedge Funds: we are a market leader in issues relating to the sponsorship of hedge fund managers. We have a broad range of experience organizing, absolute return funds, fixed income funds, event-driven and distressed debt funds, among others, utilizing both parallel and master/feeder structures for both onshore and offshore funds.
Hybrid Funds: hedge fund and other private equity funds have begun to converge in their investment objectives, structures and terms. We represent funds which have pioneered this convergence. We are not only familiar with the different strands of this convergence, but with the structural, tax and regulatory requirements that permit their successful merger.
Venture Capital Funds: we have organized a number of leading venture capital funds targeted at sectors such as information technology and biotechnology.
Distressed Debt Funds: economic uncertainty in recent years has led to the increased formation of distressed debt funds. We represent some of the leading distressed managers and have organized some of the largest distressed debt funds in the marketplace.
Mezzanine Funds: as firms have turned to providers of subordinated debt to complete the debt structures of transactions, we have organized a number of successful mezzanine funds.
Co-investment Funds: we have represented a number of institutions in establishing investment vehicles dedicated to allocating capital alongside general partners in which they have separately invested. Our representations include clients in connection with particular co-investment transactions.
Funds of Funds: we have represented several U.S. and non-U.S. sponsors in organizing funds of funds that include investments in buyout funds, venture capital funds, distressed debt funds and hedge funds. We also assist in the review of the documentation relating to a fund's commitments to underlying investment funds.
Real Estate and Other Asset-Backed Funds: we have organized numerous real estate and other asset-backed funds, including funds that focus on purchasing or developing real assets or natural resources, such as real estate, timber, agricultural land, and oil and gas properties.
International Funds: the international funds that we organize and represent generally include buyout, infrastructure and special situations funds. During the past few years, we have represented international funds targeted at Africa, Asia, Europe and Latin America. We represent many of our large fund groups on their regional and country-specific funds.
Infrastructure Funds: we have one of the premier international practices in organizing and representing funds, particularly in Latin America, Europe, Africa, India and Asia, that invest in equity, quasi-equity and convertible debt to finance infrastructure projects, including power plants, telecommunications systems, airports and port facilities, roads, water systems, and oil and mining operations.

Investment Management Transactions
The alternative assets industry is replete with opportunities for consolidation, and the combination of these human capital-intensive businesses requires astute counsel. Our Investment Management Group advises clients on the purchase, sale and financing of investment managers, as well as mergers and reorganizations of other financial services companies.

Our lawyers have served as both transactional and regulatory counsel on numerous mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and related corporate transactions involving investment management firms. We have significant experience with the wide variety of structural, financial, tax and regulatory issues that these transactions present, including complicated issues involving changes of control.

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