Overview
Our investment management attorneys work collaboratively with our clients through the fund formation process by tailoring our services to their business goals, ranging from the needs of an established manager that is expanding its existing platform to add strategies or grow its investor base through the needs of an emerging manager launching its first fund. We also advise sponsor principals on “upper-tier” economic and management issues of their general partner and management entities. Our transactional services for our investment management clients includes providing advice with respect to secondary transfers of fund interests and “seeding” of general partner entities.
Further, we provide regulatory and compliance advice to our investment management clients. We work side-by-side with our clients to develop bespoke compliance policies and procedures designed for their particular business, and we conduct internal compliance reviews and programs and assist clients with issues that arise with respect to regulatory reviews of their businesses, including enforcement actions.
Additionally we provide unparalleled advice to investors seeking to invest in various types of private funds, including analyzing the alignment of interest between the fund sponsors and their investors by reviewing fund economic terms, negotiating side letter agreements with sponsors, and providing methods to mitigate conflicts of interests between the fund sponsors and their investors. Our clients on the investor side represent a diverse group of investors, including sovereign wealth funds, private wealth advisors, pension plans, university and foundation endowments and family offices.
We believe that our investment management practice employs an efficient, multi-disciplinary approach to solving the legal needs of our clients. Our lawyers have deep experience working closely with leading fund sponsors, including at other leading law firms and in-house positions, and we deliver business-friendly solutions to the legal needs of our clients.
Sheppard Mullin’s attorneys have extensive experience counselling clients on the full spectrum of investment management needs. We regularly advise investment advisers, fund sponsors and investors with respect to the formation of various types of pooled investment vehicles as well as operational matters relating to such pooled investment vehicles. Our clients focus on a range of asset classes and investment strategies, including hedge, real estate, private equity, venture capital, infrastructure, renewable energy and clean tech-focused funds.