Our investment funds team establishes and advises credit, hedge, private equity, real estate, venture capital and other funds, as well as formal and informal investment clubs and collective investment schemes (and their operators).
We provide practical legal advice to the asset management sector (including fund managers and advisors, administrators, depositaries, custodians and other service providers) on their business issues generally, including contractual, regulatory, data privacy, incentivisation, employment and dispute matters.
Our investment funds team is also experienced in advising clients on financial promotion rules, the perimeter of the regulatory framework and the ongoing policy, supervisory and enforcement relationship with funds’ and managers’/operators’ regulatory authorities. We also represent investors in their review and negotiation of fund investments.
We help operators and managers to design onshore and offshores structures to achieve commercial and tax efficiency as well as regulatory compliance for funds, management entities, carried interest and co-investment vehicles.
Once the right structure is in place, we will advise on marketing the fund and on side letters and other commercial arrangements. We advise on asset management, custody, appointed representative and other finance related agreements as well as on financial services law relevant to funds and fund administrators including the Alternative Investment Fund Managers’ Regulations, collective investment schemes, the financial promotion regime, authorisation requirements, the UK recast Markets in Financial Instruments Directive/Regulation and exemptions and the National Private Placement Regime.
The funds team works closely with colleagues in the financial services regulatory, business crime, tax, disputes, private equity, venture capital, real estate, data protection and banking teams as required by the project. Our colleagues in Financial Services Compliance (Shoosmiths EIGHT) can advise also on applications to and filings with the UK Financial Conduct Authority (the “FCA”).
The team’s recent experience includes:
- advising a UK fund manager on establishing 3 UK Real Estate Funds
- advising a UK asset advisor on over 20 Real Estate club deals
- establishing a private equity fund for a family wealth office
- establishing a credit fund for a UK and EU lending institution
- establishing 2 crypto currency funds in the Cayman Islands
- establishing a UK non-AIF collective investment scheme for an operator to acquire a portfolio in the secondary market and to make additional investments alongside with a VCT fund
- establishing a private equity fund in Jersey for a UK manager
- establishing a VC fund in Jersey for a UK manager
- advising a UK VC fund on its supervisory relationship with the FCA and the related the valuation and transfer of the management of its portfolio to another fund
- advising “team leads” on the establishment of investment clubs and the terms of the club investments
- advising investors on their primary fund investments
- advising numerous UK clients on their appointment as Appointed Representatives of authorised and regulated managers to advise on or arrange transactions for third parties.
