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Investment Management
Our Investment Management team is a one-stop shop offering a full range of legal services to the investment management community, so investment advisers, broker-dealers, hedge funds, private funds, financial planners, institutional investors and other industry participants may turn to one place for their legal needs.
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“We add value to investment management operations through creative and practical legal counsel, permitting investment professionals and operating personnel to focus on managing and growing their businesses.”
What We Do
Our team keeps abreast of the business trends and shifting regulatory factors that shape the investment management industry, so we can anticipate how those changes may impact the activities of our investment management clients.
Services
We understand that participants in the investment management industry offer a variety of services and products using a range of business models and operating platforms. We add value to investment management operations through our creative and practical legal counsel, permitting investment professionals and operations personnel to focus on managing and growing their businesses. We regularly assist compliance personnel and/or in-house legal counsel on regulatory and compliance matters. We represent investment advisers in the full range of formation, operational and regulatory matters, from advisory contracts to registration on Form ADV, as well as transactional matters such as mergers and acquisitions, internal reorganization and successions. We represent investment advisers to separate and managed accounts, advisers to pooled investment vehicles (hedge funds, private equity funds, and venture capital funds), and advisers who provide comprehensive wealth management financial services.
In addition, our attorneys are experienced in representing clients in all types of litigation matters, including strategy and litigation relating to the broker Protocol and departures from existing firms, complex, multi-party or class-action cases. We regularly represent clients in litigation involving claims from misrepresentation, securities fraud under state and federal statutes, negligence, unsuitability, breach of fiduciary duty and churning to employment/independent contractor disputes, trade secret, non-compete/non-solicitation and raiding cases. We regularly represent clients on regulatory and compliance matters, including subpoenas, examinations, investigations, wells notices, and formal complaints by the SEC, FINRA, Department of Labor and State regulators. Our attorneys have served as counsel for receivers appointed by the court in the aftermath of Ponzi schemes, including in the Minnesota Print Services, Inc./Gerard Cellette Jr. receivership.
At Fredrikson & Byron we believe our Investment Management team offers a compelling value proposition for investment management clients. We work to staff each project in a way that maintains team continuity and ensures responsive, expert service to our clients in order to provide the most cost-effective legal advice possible.
Experience
Representative Clients
Investment Advisers
We offer our investment adviser clients a range of investment management legal services tailored to each client’s business model and service offerings.
Investment management services include:
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Representing clients in Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), Department of Labor (DOL) and state examinations and enforcement investigations and proceedings
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Analyzing registration status and registration exemptions under federal and state laws, including the Investment Advisers Act and the Investment Company Act
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Assisting with RIA registration under federal and state laws
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Advising clients with respect to corporate governance, fiduciary duty, and conflicts of interest
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Preparing and reviewing advisory contracts, customer disclosure documents, solicitation agreements and contracts with service providers
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Advising on record-keeping and reporting requirements
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Reviewing and providing advice regarding advertising and marketing materials
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Advising on custody requirements, trading obligations (e.g., best execution, trade allocation, and principal and agency cross trades), soft dollar commissions and commission recapture, and other trading and execution obligations
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Preparing codes of ethics and compliance procedures and developing compliance systems and related supervisory programs
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Assisting with employee training programs and seminars
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Facilitating ongoing compliance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and similar state laws
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Assisting clients’ implementation and adherence to industry best practice standards
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Formation of private funds and preparation of offering memorandums, fund agreements and subscription agreements
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Form D and related state compliance and filings for private offerings
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Analyzing registration exemptions as CPO (commodity pool operator) under the CFTC
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Structuring and negotiating strategic transactions involving investment advisers, broker-dealers and their representatives, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other contractual relationships, succession and transition planning, and guidance regarding relevant regulatory considerations
Broker/Dealers
Fredrikson & Byron advises brokers with regard to a broad range of regulatory and compliance issues, including:
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Analyzing exclusions and exemptions from registration
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Representing clients with respect to private placement, merger & acquisition, and other transactional matters
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Facilitating SEC, Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) and state registrations
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Providing advice with respect to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (“FINRA”) rules and regulations and ongoing compliance with regulatory requirements
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Preparing written supervisory policies and procedures
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Providing guidance on books and records requirements and record retention obligations
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Representing clients in SEC and FINRA examinations and enforcement investigations and proceedings
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Structuring and negotiating strategic transactions involving investment advisers, broker-dealers and their representatives, including mergers and acquisitions, joint ventures and other contractual relationships, succession and transition planning, and guidance regarding relevant regulatory considerations
Litigation & Arbitration
Fredrikson & Byron represents investment advisors, broker-dealers, financial planners and investment companies in state and federal courts, arbitration matters, and regulatory proceedings around the country. Our expertise includes:
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Regulatory Enforcement Proceedings (SEC, FINRA, DOL, etc.)
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Broker-Dealer Litigation/Arbitration
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Breakaway broker cases involving strategy and/or litigation around the broker Protocol
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Closely-Held Companies – representing minority and majority owner groups
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Director and Officer Liability
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Multi-Party and Class Actions
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Publicly Traded Companies
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Securities/Financial Industry Employment Litigation, including trade secret, non- compete/non-solicitation and raiding cases
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Securities Fraud Lawsuits
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Shareholder/Corporate Control Disputes
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Securities Fraud/Broker-Dealer Litigation
Institutional Investors
We have experience representing investors - including family offices, pension funds, endowments, and high-net-worth individuals - in various matters, including:
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Negotiating, analyzing and structuring alternative investments
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Conducting due diligence evaluations of alternative investment platforms
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Negotiating secondary sales of alternative investments
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Review of fund offering documents, including advice on market terms
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Assistance completing subscription agreements for investments in private equity and hedge funds
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Retention of third party advisers, including preparation, review and negotiation of investment advisory agreements and sub-advisory agreements
We understand the increasing demands placed on many investors to properly evaluate various investment structures and terms, to receive transparent and timely reporting, to analyze and evaluate conflicts of interest that are inherent in most fund platforms, and to understand liquidity provisions. We provide counsel to help investors mitigate or otherwise manage structural risks and to preserve investor rights when unexpected events occur.
News & Articles
FINRA Enacts New Rules Addressing Financial Exploitation of Seniors, as Regulators Increase Vigilance Protecting Senior Investors Generally
June 15, 2017
By Ryan C. Young & Matthew T. Boos
The Financial Industry Regulatory Authority announced a February 5, 2018, effective date for FINRA’s new rules aimed at addressing financial exploitation of seniors.
Read MoreNew York’s New Cybersecurity Regulation: What’s the Impact?
May 10, 2017
With cyber intrusions becoming more common and sophisticated, the New York State Department of Financial Services has implemented a new regulation to combat these ever-increasing dangers.
Read MoreTop Trends in Data Protection and Cybersecurity in 2017: Ransomware Will Happen
February 3, 2017
By Ann M. Ladd
Like it or not, ransomware is happening, and will continue to happen with increasing frequency. In fact, a recent survey indicates that 93 percent of phishing emails contain ransomware.
Read MoreFinancial Services Industry Targeted in Wave of Lawsuit Threats Over Websites Allegedly Inaccessible to the Visually Impaired
November 15, 2016
By Matthew T. Boos, Steven E. Helland & Karla L. Reyerson
In a trend that began several years ago and has migrated through several industries, investment firms are among those being targeted by enterprising plaintiffs’ lawyers alleging that the firms’ website are inaccessible to blind or otherwise disabled users. The claim is that the firms are violating the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
Read MoreMorgan Stanley’s $1M Settlement with SEC Highlights Importance of Regular Testing of Policies and Procedures to Safeguard Customer Information
June 30, 2016
By Sandra Smalley-Fleming & David D. Coyle
The SEC recently issued a press release announcing “that Morgan Stanley Smith Barney LLC has agreed to pay a $1 million penalty to settle charges related to its failures to protect customer information, some of which was hacked and offered for sale online.”
Read MoreDOL Issues Final Conflict of Interest Rule
April 7, 2016
By Debra J. Linder & Matthew T. Boos
On April 6, 2016, the Department of Labor issued its much-anticipated conflicts of interest final rule. Like the proposed rule, the final rule broadens the definition of fiduciary and will likely require more investment advisers to comply with the fiduciary rules under the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA), as it applies to advice provided to both qualified retirement plan participants and IRA account holders.
Read MoreThe SEC’s Announces 2016 Exam Priorities
February 5, 2016
The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), through its Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations (OCIE), has published its exam priorities for 2016. According to the SEC, these priorities reflect certain practices and products that may present heightened risk to investors and/or the integrity of the U.S. capital markets.
Read MoreRetirement Advisers Get Ready – You May Have a Heightened Duty to Clients
April 21, 2015
A recent statement by President Barack Obama warned of future changes to the fiduciary duties for financial advisers. While requesting the Department of Labor to update its fiduciary rules, President Obama stated, “It’s a very simple principle: You want to give financial advice, you’ve got to put your client’s interests first.”
Read MoreSEC Publishes Its 2014 List of Examination Priorities
February 12, 2014
By Matthew T. Boos & David E. Winkler
Last month, the National Examination Program (NEP) of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations published its 2014 examination priorities.
Read MoreChanges to Minnesota Investment Adviser Regulation for Investment Advisers and Private Fund Managers
October 1, 2013
By Lisa Holter
New legislation effective August 1 changes the registration requirements and exemptions for investment advisers and representatives in Minnesota, and will likely affect managers of private funds.
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