Private Funds and Asset Management

Our core practice is centred around funds and asset management, and we have extensive expertise in advising on the various aspects in the lifecycle of an investment fund. We view fundraising as the foundation of the lifecycle of an investment fund and as a critical piece that informs various aspects of its operations and investment programme. We apply a rigorous process to our fund formation projects, which involves a study of the outcome of prior investor negotiations and approaches adopted by peer funds in the market, a thorough deliberation of the commercials, and ultimately, the structuring and Marketing Analysis exercise.

Our funds practice benefits from our team’s first-hand experience with fundraising on behalf of some of the largest fund houses in India, Europe and the United States. Internationally, members of our team have represented some of the largest sponsors such as EQT and CVC on their flagship buyout funds. Our team has acted on product offerings across various asset classes, ranging from vanilla venture capital and private equity funds to more bespoke products in the real estate, infrastructure, debt, fintech and impact investment space. We take pride in being thought leaders, unafraid of innovation and have been at the forefront of developing innovative structures during challenging fundraising cycles.

On the research side, we closely follow judicial developments and market trends on governance issues and fiduciary responsibilities. As these continue to assume greater importance in LP-GP negotiations during the course of fund operations, we are committed to identifying and defending the most efficient protections in terms of key person obligations, change of control, GP removal triggers and indemnification provisions.

As lawyers, we believe it is important to shape conversations relating to legal reform. With this in mind, our team has been actively involved with the rollout of the Foreign Portfolio Investors (FPI) Regulations (which replaced the erstwhile FII Regulations) and the introduction of the regulatory framework for Real Estate Investment Trusts, to take a few examples. Whilst the mainstay of our practice is focused on representation of sponsors, our team has, from time to time, been retained to act for LPs in special situations (such as where the LP is the cornerstone investor or where the LP is participating in a managed account arrangement or investing in a single-asset fund). We have been engaged repeatedly by some of the world’s largest sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and large institutional investors.