RopesTalk

In this installment of Ropes & Gray’s alumni podcast series, Alumni @ RopesTalk, strategic transactions partner Megan Baca is joined by Ropes & Gray alum Sabrina Ross for a wide-ranging conversation about Sabrina’s journey from Ropes & Gray associate to global head of policy for Uber’s ridesharing marketplace. This candid and engaging conversation touches upon the myriad challenges—and...

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partner Isabel Dische and finance partner Patricia Lynch dive into the use of capital call facilities by private investment funds. Specifically, they go into detail on some of the pros and cons for limited partners of such subscription facilities, recent ILPA guidelines relating to their use, the market response to the ILPA guidelines, and their p...

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management counsel Brynn Rail and David Tittsworth discuss the SEC’s new rules and interpretations that deal with standards of conduct for brokers and investment advisers. Specifically, they cover the topics of Regulation Best Interest (Reg BI), Form Customer Relationship Summary (Form CRS), and the SEC’s fiduciary duty interpretation under the Advisers Act.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, litigation & enforcement partners Amy Roy and Rob Skinner discuss the recent decision of a federal court in Los Angeles, rejecting claims of allegedly excessive mutual fund advisory fees against Metropolitan West Asset Management. They discuss the key arguments raised in the trial over the claims, and the evidence relied upon by the court in finding in MetWest...

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partners Laurel FitzPatrick and Joel Wattenbarger discuss the Risk Alert published on May 23, 2019 by the SEC’s Office of Compliance Inspections and Examinations, which addresses the obligation to safeguard customer records and other information in cloud-based or network storage solutions.

In this ESG-focused podcast, asset management partners Isabel Dische and Eve Ellis discuss the United Kingdom’s recently published Green Finance Strategy, the European Union’s Action Plan on Sustainable Finance and how these initiatives may impact asset managers.

The third installment of Ropes & Gray’s podcast series, Non-binding Guidance, highlights two recent federal district court decisions implicating enforcement efforts in the stem cell and compounding arenas. This episode, Ropes & Gray lawyers Greg Levine and Beth Weinman first explore the D.C. District Court’s decision to grant summary judgment to FDA in its efforts to enjoin a Florida clini...

This new Ropes & Gray podcast series, The PEP Talk, Ropes & Gray’s Private Equity Podcast, focuses on legal issues of interest to the private equity industry. In the first episode of the series, asset management partners Peter Laybourn and Debra Lussier are joined by Keith Higgins, chair of the firm’s securities and governance practice and former SEC director of corporation finance, to dis...

In this podcast, Isabel Dische and Melissa Bender discuss the recent impact investing standards published by the International Finance Corporation (IFC), an arm of the World Bank. This discussion provides a high-level overview of the IFC impact investing framework and related considerations for asset owners and managers.

In this podcast, Isabel Dische and Josh Lichtenstein discuss President Trump’s April 10, 2019 Executive Order on Promoting Energy Infrastructure and Economic Growth and its possible implications for Department of Labor guidance with respect to ERISA plan fiduciaries’ consideration of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities as part of their investment processes and relate...

In this podcast, Sarah Clinton and David Sullivan discuss interval funds registered under the Investment Company Act of 1940, an increasingly common vehicle for credit strategies. As interval funds have risen in popularity recently, with the number of interval funds and amount of AUM having essentially doubled in the past two years, credit fund managers may be considering using this alternative st...

This Ropes & Gray podcast series highlights developments in Washington, D.C., affecting private funds and their legal, regulatory and compliance obligations. In this second installment, asset management partner Joel Wattenbarger and counsel David Tittsworth pick up on their conversation from January 2019, when the U.S. government was in partial shutdown, to discuss the aftermath of the shutdow...

This Ropes & Gray podcast series, which we expect to update periodically, will highlight developments in Washington, D.C. that affect private funds and their legal, regulatory and compliance obligations. In the first episode of the series, hedge fund partner Joel Wattenbarger is joined by investment management counsel David Tittsworth to discuss relevant SEC rulemakings, enforcement and inspec...

During this podcast, Michael Doherty and Jason Kolman discuss some considerations for newer credit fund managers, including common differences between the various types of credit funds, as well as between private equity and credit funds generally. Managers considering entering the credit fund market will gain a better understanding of common differences between credit and private equity funds in r...

In this podcast, Laurel FitzPatrick, Adam Greenwood and Jim Brown discuss the tax considerations applicable to non-US investors investing in funds that invest in credit and debt instruments. So-called 'treaty funds' offer one alternative to managing tax implications resulting from these investments, but their complexity requires an understanding of the various structures and mechanisms of these ty...

With the increase in the number of hedge fund and private equity managers starting or considering starting a credit fund, it is more important than ever to understand and address the challenges and risks as they relate to insider trading. Dan O’Connor and Matt McGinnis will discuss the state of play for insider trading law as applied to debt instruments and other assets often held by credit funds,...

Although larger sponsors have been running PE funds simultaneously alongside credit funds for quite some time, over the last few years there has been a steady increase in the number of private equity firms expanding their product offering to include credit funds. A key consideration for a PE firm deciding to enter the credit space is how to address and minimize potential conflicts of interest that...

Implementing effective compliance programs is challenging, especially where third-party risk management is involved. In this podcast, Ropes & Gray litigation & enforcement partner Amanda Raad is joined by ethics and compliance consultant Hui Chen, who served as compliance counsel in the Department of Justice, to discuss how companies can tell if a compliance program is working.

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, tax partner Kendi Ozmon and tax counsel Gil Ghatan discuss one of the key provisions for tax-exempt organizations from the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act (TCJA) – the new unrelated business taxable income (UBTI) rules for certain fringe benefits. As of January 1, section 512(a)(7) now treats certain employee fringe benefit expenses as giving rise to UBTI for tax-exempt emp...

Compliance programs are difficult to design, and implementing and enforcing policies and procedures is challenging, especially in complex, global organizations. In this podcast, the first in a series on challenges and best practices in risk mitigation and management, litigation & enforcement partner Amanda Raad and ethics and compliance consultant Hui Chen, former Department of Justice complia...

Credit fund managers face unique conflicts issues under ERISA that require specific policies and procedures designed to identify, avoid and mitigate the risks these conflicts pose. This podcast serves as an introduction to how credit fund managers should approach some of the common and emerging scenarios and misconceptions surrounding ERISA, including season and sell, loan participations, venture...

In this Ropes & Gray podcast, asset management partner Isabel Dische and tax partner Brett Robbins discuss the effect of Section 457A on pre-2009 management and incentive fees and charitable planning strategies that can be implemented this year to reduce 2017’s tax burden.

What impact could the new Trump administration have on the federal judiciary, including the Supreme Court? Having previously served with the Office of the Solicitor General and as Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to President Obama, respectively, Doug Hallward-Driemeier and Justin Florence from Ropes & Gray’s business and securities litigation practice offer their perspectives on what m...

What impact will the incoming Trump administration have on potential levers of policy change that are available to the Congress and the Executive branch? Having previously served with the Office of the Solicitor General and as Special Assistant and Associate Counsel to President Obama, respectively, Doug Hallward-Driemeier and Justin Florence from Ropes & Gray’s business and securities litigat...

What impact will the incoming Trump administration have on the 2017 health care and life sciences regulatory outlook? In this podcast, Washington, D.C.-based partners Tom Bulleit (health care) and Al Cacozza (life sciences) offer their perspectives on what might lie ahead.