Sidley is consistently recognized by our clients, peers and the investment management industry as providing outstanding client service and market-leading advice. We are at the forefront in new product development, participating in the structuring, organization, registration, servicing and/or distribution of a wide array of innovative funds, derivative instruments and structured investment products, including:
Hedge Funds — the full scope of hedge fund structures, products and offerings, including principal-protected note offerings backed by hedge fund assets.
Managed Accounts — advise both asset allocators and advisers on terms and structure.
Registered Investment Companies — counsel to funds, advisers, independent directors and underwriters for a wide array of open and closed-end registered funds.
Permanent Capital Transactions — the first medium-term note program backed by hedge funds, raising permanent capital for investment and trading purposes.
Alternative Asset Manager IPO — underwriter’s counsel in the first U.S. initial public offering listed on the NYSE of interests in an alternative asset management company.
Manager Acquisitions and Seedings — counsel to both managers and buyers/seed investors on a wide array of acquisitions of managers and stakes therein, as well as seed investments.
Money Market Funds — counsel to both funds and investment banks on regulatory compliance and structuring products to be eligible for purchase by money market funds, including acting as counsel in structuring among the first money fund-eligible preferred share and extendible note products.
ETFs — registered as investment companies and commodity pools, including the first commodity index ETF and the first leveraged currency ETF.
Funds of Private Equity Funds — the first fund of private equity funds registered under the Investment Company Act and the largest secondary fund of funds private equity funds roll-up transaction.
Publicly Offered Venture Capital Partnerships — the first publicly offered partnership designed to invest in venture capital opportunities.
Innovative Fund Products in Asia — development of a variety of innovative fund products in Asia, including the first Hong Kong exchange-traded fund and the first property fund in mainland China with direct foreign investment.
Private Real Estate Fund for Properties in Turkey — fund counsel on an offering of a private real estate fund investing in properties in Turkey.
Principal Protected Funds — numerous U.S. and non-U.S. principal protected funds.
Business Development Companies — several of the first funds organized and registered as BDCs.
Commodity Pools — many of the first private and public commodity pools.
Master-Feeder Structures — U.S. and non-U.S. master-feeder structures for a variety of public and private funds.
Employees’ Securities Companies — numerous funds qualifying as employees’ securities companies under the Investment Company Act.
Insurance-Linked Funds — counsel to both managers and distributors of insurance-linked funds investing in a variety of insurance-related risks.
REIT M&A — Represented Equity Office Properties in its acquisition by Blackstone, one of the largest leveraged buyout transactions in history.
Global Practice
As our clients have grown more global, so have we. Our London, Singapore and Hong Kong offices have a robust and growing base of European and Asian clients that our U.S. offices service with respect to U.S. legal and regulatory matters. Likewise, our London, Singapore and Hong Kong offices regularly advise our U.S.-based clients with respect to applicable laws and regulations and product distribution in Europe and Asia.
All of our offices work with service providers in fund-friendly jurisdictions to organize investment funds and transactions. Such non-U.S. funds include numerous exchange-listed, credit-enhanced, master-feeder, multi-series and other non-standard structures. We work closely with a large network of counsel, accountants and administrators in Europe, Asia, the Caribbean jurisdictions and other tax havens.
Sidley has significant fund management, hedge fund and private equity experience in Asia, and was named “Investment Funds Law Firm of the Year” 2014 by Asian Legal Business. Sidley also received this honor in 2007.
We have assisted in developing a number of innovative investment products, many of which have been the first of their kind in Hong Kong and elsewhere in Asia.
Broad, Sophisticated Client Base
Our clients, located in and outside the United States, include sponsors and managers of hedge funds, private equity/venture capital funds, real estate funds, mutual funds and closed-end funds as well as fund boards, investment advisers, commodity pool operators, commodity trading advisors, banks, securities and futures brokerage firms, multinational institutional investors, venture capitalists, professional trustee companies, state-owned enterprises and government entities and other participants in the U.S. and non-U.S. securities and derivatives markets.
Comprehensive Legal Advice
We provide clients with “one-stop shopping,” providing them with a resource for any legal need that may arise. In serving our clients, our group utilizes the extensive experience of Sidley’s other practice areas, including corporate, securities and broker-dealer regulatory, tax, employee benefits, banking (including advising on the implications of the Volcker Rule), bankruptcy, estate planning, intellectual property, real estate, public finance, labor and litigation.
