A significant part of our FIG practice involves advising fund and asset managers. Lawyers in our investment funds group act for a broad range of clients in the investment funds and asset management sector, as well as for core investor clients such as pension funds and insurance companies.

We have considerable expertise advising on the structuring, establishment, promotion, regulation and operation of investment funds, including limited partnerships, open and closed-ended companies, authorised and unauthorised unit trusts, real estate investment trusts and various forms of parallel asset management arrangements and related wrapper products.

Our recent work reflects:

  • the increasing trend to list funds including private equity funds, and investment companies, including those set up to invest in real estate, debt securities or other assets;
  • the emergence of the hedge funds, including the structuring, launch and general marketing of these funds and acting for consortia investing in deals;
  • the opportunities in the retail funds sector resulting from UCITS III;
  • consolidation of the asset management industry, including through outsourcings; and
  • attempts to create pan European and other cross border investment management services.

A selection of our recent experience includes advising:

  • Deutsche Bank in relation to open-ended real estate funds;
  • Deutsche Bank on the disposal of parts of the UK and Philadelphia-based asset management businesses of Deutsche Asset Management to Aberdeen, and on its acquisition of Tilney Investment Management, the UK based fund manager;
  • Dubai International Capital (DIC) and HSBC on the establishment of an US$500m infrastructure fund focusing on the MENA region, including advising on the related carry arrangements;
  • DIC on the launch of the US$2bn Global Strategic Equities Fund;
  • DWS Investment GmbH on the restructuring of the international distribution network for various financial instruments;
  • Synesis Life Ltd, a UK insurer set up to acquire medium to large annuity portfolios from UK insurance companies and pension funds, on its establishment and the series-A round of funding;
  • UBS on its acquisition of Global Asset Management and recently, Julius Baer Holding AG on the UK aspects of its €3.7bn acquisition of GAM and associated private banking assets from UBS; and
  • Unicredit on its strategy to combine HVB's Activest Group with Pioneer

For more information please contact Jeremy Barton, business development manager.

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