United Kingdom > London > Finance > Investment funds
Index of tables
Investment funds
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- Baker & McKenzie LLP
- CMS Cameron McKenna LLP
- Covington & Burling LLP
- DLA Piper UK LLP
- Lawrence Graham LLP
- Mayer Brown International LLP
- O’Melveny & Myers LLP
- Schulte Roth & Zabel International LLP
- Shearman & Sterling LLP
- Sidley Austin LLP
- Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
- Slaughter and May
- Speechly Bircham LLP
- Weil, Gotshal & Manges
- White & Case LLP
Hedge funds
Listed funds
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Private funds
Retail funds
Leading individuals
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- Peter Astleford Dechert LLP
- Jonathan Baird Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP
- Bridget Barker Macfarlanes LLP
- David Billings Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld
- Jonathan Blake SJ Berwin LLP
- Iain Cullen Simmons & Simmons
- Nigel Farr Herbert Smith LLP
- Ed Gander Weil, Gotshal & Manges
- Bruce Gardner Sidley Austin LLP
- Simon Gleeson Clifford Chance
- Jason Glover Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP
- Nigel Hatfield Clifford Chance
- Nick Heather Lawrence Graham LLP
- Christopher Hilditch Schulte Roth & Zabel International LLP
- Matthew Judd White & Case LLP
- Sam Kay Travers Smith LLP
- Deborah Lloyd Nabarro LLP
- Stuart Martin Dechert LLP
- Peter McGowan Proskauer Rose LLP
- Mark Mifsud Kirkland & Ellis International LLP
- William Saunders Stephenson Harwood
- Tim Shipton Linklaters LLP
- Pamela Thompson Eversheds LLP
- Thiha Tun Herbert Smith LLP
- Nigel van Zyl SJ Berwin LLP
- Michaela Walker Eversheds LLP
- Steven Whittaker Simmons & Simmons
The higher-ranked firms in the main Investment funds table have sophisticated and generally broader practices, with the ability and depth to work across different fund types, asset classes and disciplines, or are recognised as outstanding players in one or more sectors. This main table also dictates the order of the editorial.
The four sub-tables reflect strengths in particular areas. The Private funds table covers non-listed private equity, infrastructure and real estate funds but excludes hedge funds, which are addressed in a separate table; the Listed funds table assesses closed-end listed funds practices; and the Retail funds table addresses authorised funds such as UCITS, unit trusts and OEICs. The focus in all cases is on fund formation, fundraising, restructuring, and regulatory advice. Readers should be aware that there is a separate section covering Private equity – transactions, under Corporate and commercial.
Ashurst LLP is ‘not the largest funds department in London but has decent strength in depth, and good-quality knowledge of industry trends’. Real estate funds clients include Greenhills Asset Management, RREEF and SEDCO, while listed funds clients include J.P. Morgan Cazenove, Citi, and Invesco. The team represents clients such as BNP Paribas and Citibank on UCITS and ETFs. Piers Warburton is ‘very clever, very pleasant, and has in-depth knowledge of private equity funds’. Bruce Hanton is highly regarded, as is tax partner John Watson, and David Evans is excellent for real estate funds. Jeremy Sheldon has retired.
Eversheds LLP ‘always resources well, and responds very quickly’. It has top-end expertise in retail funds, rounded out by excellence across mid-market private equity and real estate funds, and listed and hedge funds. The ‘very well-informed’ Pamela Thompson, who heads the practice, is recommended for retail funds, as are Julian Brown and the ‘very practical’ Michaela Walker, ‘a leading lawyer for UK funds’. Hedge and private funds expert Ronald Paterson displays ‘good knowledge and business sense’, and Jonathan Master is recommended for listed funds. Clients include Numis Securities, Credit Suisse and Aberdeen Asset Management.
‘All round, the best in the market’, Herbert Smith LLP has deep resources and a leading practice in listed funds, and strength in hedge and private funds. Highlights included advising new client Gulf International Bank on an emerging markets opportunities fund, and HarbourVest Senior Loans Europe Limited on its LSE main market listing. The team provides ‘first-rate service, reflected in fast response times, and its “value-added” and proactive approach’. Thiha Tun and practice head Nigel Farr demonstrate ‘deep commitment, broad knowledge and a focus on solutions’, and Tim West is ‘a quietly assertive adviser who spots and anticipates key issues well’. Scott Cochrane and Mark Geday are also recommended.
Hogan Lovells International LLP is a ‘strong team that is good value for money’ across private, hedge and listed funds. It advised John Laing Infrastructure Fund on its £270m LSE listing, and now represents three of the four infrastructure funds listed on the LSE’s main market. It advised on launching Threadneedle Asset Management Low-Carbon Workplace Fund and Lend Lease PFI/PPP Infrastructure Fund. Practice head Nicholas Holman is ‘very good and very knowledgeable’, and is ‘prepared to give a commercial view in addition to technical legal advice’. James McDonald and Erik Jamieson are recommended for real estate and hedge funds respectively.
Linklaters LLP’s ‘consistently impressive’ team is ‘efficient and commercially oriented’. Its excellence across fund and asset classes (with particular strength in listed and private funds) is mirrored by its breadth geographically. Highly regarded individuals include Jonathan de Lance-Holmes, who heads the London investment management group; Tim Shipton, global co-head of the investment managers team; Nicola Hopkins; and regulatory expert Peter Bevan. Recent highlights include advising HSBS Special Investments’ senior management, a new client, on the spinout to form InfraRed Capital Partners, involving the restructuring of a multi-jurisdictional fund manager. Cinven and BXR Group are other significant new clients. The firm has been advising Lend Lease on lifecycle extension for Lend Lease Retail Partnership fund, and advising another client on cutting-edge hedge funds and UCITS platforms.
Providing ‘excellent service from high-quality lawyers’, Macfarlanes LLP’s well-resourced team includes experts across private, listed and retail funds. Practice head Bridget Barker, ‘a real star in the funds world’, is recommended for private funds matters, along with Stephen Robinson and Stephen Sims. The team advised Azini Capital on fundraising for Azini 2, which acquired Apax’s venture capital portfolio, and acted on Montagu Private Equity’s fourth fund. ‘Trusted adviser’ Tim Cornick is recommended for open-ended funds, where clients include Fidelity and Old Mutual; and Robinson and Matthew Blows are recommended for listed funds, and have been advising on restructuring matters. Mark Baldwin is ‘one of the best tax thinkers in the City of London’.
SJ Berwin LLP is ‘excellent – advice is to the point and very commercial’. Its greatest strength is in private equity, complemented by its expertise in hedge funds and real estate funds. The group acted on 49 fundraisings totalling €22bn in 2010, including Pantheon Ventures’ $3bn Global Secondaries Fund, and the £1.9bn HgCapital 6 fund. Other clients include Apax, Cheyne, Hermes, and Macquarie. Senior partner Jonathan Blake heads the team, which is ‘consistently strong, right down into the junior level’. Nigel van Zyl is ‘a star – always calm and capable, with an impressive knowledge of his area, shrewd, and astute at leading negotiations’; and Duncan Woollard has ‘very strong knowledge of mezzanine funds’. Ajay Pathak co-heads the hedge fund with Victoria Younghusband, who also heads the listed funds team; and Simon Witney, Josyane Gold, Michael Halford and David Ryland are also recommended
Simmons & Simmons provides ‘an excellent service, very good value for money, convincing industry know-how, and a business-oriented approach’. Its premier UK hedge funds practice is advising Old Mutual on a new managed futures fund, and other clients on the launches of BlueCrest FX Arbitrage Fund, Lansdowne European Long Only Feeder Fund and Lansdowne Global Long Only Fund. The firm also has prominent listed, retail and private equity funds practices. In private funds, it advised Gartmore on the £4.1bn merger with Hermes to create Hermes GPE, and Acuity Capital on a new $100m renewable energy infrastructure fund. It advised RBS as sponsor on the LSE listing and launch of CQS Diversified Fund; and acted for F&C Management Limited and Altima Partners on respective UCITS umbrella platforms with sub-funds. The highly regarded Steven Whittaker is an expert in hedge and closed-ended funds, and the ‘extremely diligent and capable’ Ian Meade and ‘very sensible’ Timothy Pearce are also recommended for hedge funds. Private equity specialist Noel Ainsworth is ‘technically very good, and impressive in terms of business sense and client focus’. The ‘very responsive’ Neil Simmonds is an expert in retail and hedge funds.
Akin Gump Strauss Hauer & Feld is a powerful transatlantic presence, with the London office handling fund formation and reorganisations for major private equity and hedge fund clients including Carlyle, J.P. Morgan Securities Inc and Polygon. The team is ‘generally excellent across sectors – the real strength is the practicality of advice’. David Billings, a US-qualified attorney, heads the practice and is highly recommended. Simon Thomas displays ‘excellent all-round knowledge, with a practical point of view’.
Allen & Overy LLP’s ‘very experienced and responsive’ team works across the higher end of private equity, real estate, infrastructure, hedge and listed funds, and certain UCITS. It advised the IFC on establishing its fund management subsidiary; and set up JPMorgan Asset Management’s $750m Global Maritime Investment Fund and its High-Yield Debt Fund, a feeder fund for a pension fund sponsored by a Japanese bank. Matt Huggett is ‘very good at identifying solutions’, and is recommended along with Nick Williams.
Berwin Leighton Paisner LLP’s investment management group is ‘excellent – advice is to the point and very commercial’. Best known for its superb real estate funds practice, it has added capability across other fund classes. Recent instructions include closing new private equity funds for Duet; acting for Aviva Investors, Blackrock, LaSalle and Hermes on real estate funds; handling listed funds including the LSE-listed GCP Infrastructure Fund; and retail and hedge fund work for clients such as Barclays Wealth. Antony Grossman is recommended for real estate funds, and is the new practice head, replacing Tim Simmonds, who moved to Osborne Clarke in June 2011. Kate Binedell was promoted to partner in 2010. The excellent Peter McGowan, a real estate and hedge fund expert, joined Proskauer Rose LLP in June 2011.
Clifford Chance’s funds practice has changed dramatically, losing several key partners; the superb Jason Glover joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP in January 2011, and in June 2011 Weil, Gotshal & Manges hired Ed Gander, Nick Benson, Nigel Clark and Jonathan Kandel to found its new fund formation team. Nigel Hatfield remains, and provides private equity and real estate fund clients – including Legal & General and Pramerica – with ‘excellent, commercially oriented advice that draws on his deep knowledge of both his subject and the market’; and Stephen Fox is also ‘particularly impressive’.
Debevoise & Plimpton LLP’s globally renowned private equity practice is represented in London by a high-quality team, advising on buyout, mezzanine, real estate and infrastructure funds. It advised Park Square and Doughty Hanson on capital raisings for new European funds, and acted for Deutsche Bank on establishing its next-generation secondaries opportunity fund. Marwan Al-Turki, Geoffrey Kittredge and Anthony McWhirter are recommended.
Dechert LLP’s ‘excellent and dedicated’ London team advises on private and hedge funds, and also handles ETFs, OEICs and UCITS. ‘Commercial’ practice head Peter Astleford and Stuart Martin are highly regarded for hedge funds, as well as closed and open-ended funds. Both Martin and Jennifer Wood are ‘solid, experienced, and calm under pressure’. Recent highlights include advising Pamplona on a joint venture platform; and assisting on a number of new funds and trusts for clients including ACPI, BlueBay and Lombard Odier.
Field Fisher Waterhouse LLP is excellent for retail funds. It is also undertaking more alternative investment funds work, and Duncan Black is recommended for hedge funds. Group head Kirstene Baillie is highly experienced and efficient, and an expert in UCITS. The firm advised several major clients on fund formation and reorganisations.
Freshfields Bruckhaus Deringer LLP acts on innovative and high-end matters across the fund spectrum, and, particularly, is ‘at the top of the game in the listed fund arena, for its understanding of both issuer and underwriter pressure points’. It advised Brevan Howard on launching its new investment company, BH Credit Catalysts Ltd; Dragon Capital and certain of its managed funds on lifecycle continuation; and Peakside Real Estate AG on its spinout from Bank of America Merrill Lynch. Practice head Mark Watterson, Karen Fountain and David Rouch are recommended, as is Jonathan Baird, who is ‘very good at finding solutions to meet commercial objectives’.
Kirkland & Ellis International LLP’s ‘very good’ team is ‘proactive and commercial’, and has developed an excellent private funds practice, including buyout and secondary funds as well as real estate, infrastructure and venture capital. Practice head Mark Mifsud, Kate Downey and Richard Watkins are recommended. The team acted for Candover Partners on the funds aspects of its spinout into Arle Capital Partners; and advised a top-end investment manager on the tax structuring of its portfolio. It is also sole private funds counsel to Nomura International.
Nabarro LLP’s ‘thorough and methodical’ team works across the hedge, private equity and real estate fund sectors. It advised Goodman Industrial Trust on establishing UK and European real estate funds, of £400m and €400m respectively. Group head Amanda Howard is ‘not only a good lawyer but very good at organising delivery of service’; she and Deborah Lloyd are recommended for real estate funds, and Andrew Wylie for private equity and hedge funds.
‘Very solid on the law, with an excellent dose of commercialism’, Norton Rose LLP is ‘very responsive’, and provides ‘good advice from the partners and good support from the associates’. Listed and retail funds are key, but the firm is growing its private equity, real estate and hedge funds work. It advised JPMorgan Global Emerging Markets Income Trust plc on its IPO and LSE listing; acted for J.P. Morgan Cazenove and others on the £270m IPO and LSE listing of John Laing Infrastructure Fund Limited; and acted on the establishment of Skyline Capital. Practice head Ian Fox is ‘very good, and explains complex issues clearly’; Michael Newell is highly rated for hedge and private funds; and Richard Sheen, head of asset management, is also recommended, along with listed funds expert Cathy Pitt.
Stephenson Harwood is ‘exceedingly good value for money’. The team acted for the sponsor and joint bookrunners on LSE-listed BlueCrest AllBlue Fund Limited’s placing and offer of C shares. The practice was also busy with restructuring and investment rollovers for major investment trusts. Practice head William Saunders is ‘very good and readily accessible’, and is an expert in offshore investment companies. Andrew Sutch and Elizabeth Field are also recommended.
Travers Smith LLP is ‘excellent, commercial and responsive, with strength in depth’. Its practice spans private equity buyout, infrastructure, real estate and hedge funds, as well as listed funds. Group head Sam Kay displays ‘particular expertise in the structuring of offshore alternative funds’, and is ‘highly responsive, and reliably provides sound legal guidance taking account of commercial realities’. Jane Tuckley is ‘an extremely capable regulatory lawyer with an impressive knowledge of regulatory requirements for all types of investment funds’. Aaron Stocks is recommended for listed funds, and Richard Spedding for hedge funds. The group advised Elysian Capital on its £130m debut buyout fund; Candover Partners Ltd on its spinout from Candover Investments plc via the formation of Arle Capital Partners; and Metric Property Investments plc on its £190m placing and LSE listing and conversion to a REIT.
Baker & McKenzie LLP’s four-partner team established various new emerging markets, real estate and secondary funds. Highlights included advising Mansour Group on establishing the Guernsey-based Man Capital fund platform, and Earth Capital Partners LLP on its ECP Forestry Fund One LP. James Burdett heads the team.
CMS Cameron McKenna LLP’s ‘first-class service’ is marked by ‘good response times and the ability to solve problems on the hoof’. It has considerable expertise in real estate and infrastructure funds, and advised on aspects of John Laing Infrastructure Fund, which had its IPO in November 2010. Christopher Southorn and Melville Rodrigues are highly regarded for fund formation. Gawain Hughes moved to DLA Piper UK LLP.
Covington & Burling LLP’s high-calibre private equity practice has focused on investments and secondary transactions recently. Clients include Brookings Institute and Pantheon. Practice head Simon Goodworth is recommended.
DLA Piper UK LLP advised Better Capital Limited on its AIM listing and subsequent migration to the LSE main market. David Williams heads the team, which recruited private funds partner Gawain Hughes from CMS Cameron McKenna LLP in September 2010, a year after adding private equity expert Jon Hayes.
Providing ‘excellent partner-level support’, Lawrence Graham LLP’s core strengths are real estate funds and closed-ended funds. Highlights included advising BlackRock Frontiers Investment Trust plc on its LSE placement and £95m fundraising. Other clients include Ruffer Investment Company, Cenkos Securities and Universities Superannuation Scheme. Nick Heather is ‘personable, has a deep commercial understanding of funds, provides creative solutions, is well connected in the industry, and provides excellent client management’.
Mayer Brown International LLP’s expertise encompasses real estate, private equity, hedge and listed funds, although its recent work has focused more on investments and asset transactions than on fund formation. Clients include BNY Mellon, Future Fund Board of Guardians, and UBS Global Asset Management. Practice head Tim Nosworthy is ‘thoughtful and very responsive’; and hedge fund expert William Charnley and regulatory specialist Angela Hayes are also recommended.
O’Melveny & Myers LLP’s core expertise lies in private funds. Clients include Actis, Apollo Management and Coller Capital. Practice head John Daghlian and Solomon Wifa are recommended. James Ford relocated to Hong Kong in January 2011.
Schulte Roth & Zabel International LLP’s London office is a dedicated funds practice. It is best known for hedge funds work, and was recently instructed by Centaurus Capital on the formation of two new funds, but is increasingly busy with UCITS instructions for clients including Marshall Wace. Other work included representing Millennium Global Investments on a spinout, and advising Liongate Capital on two new funds of hedge funds. London managing partner Christopher Hilditch and US-qualified Josh Dambacher are recommended.
Shearman & Sterling LLP advised key clients on the establishment and launch of a new hedge fund and a new real estate fund. Of counsel William Murdie heads the practice, and is highly rated.
Sidley Austin LLP’s primary expertise lies in hedge funds, and the group acted on several new funds in 2010 and 2011. Clients include James Caird Asset Management and Trafalgar Asset Management. Highly experienced team head Bruce Gardner is recommended.
The highly rated Jason Glover joined Simpson Thacher & Bartlett LLP from Clifford Chance in January 2011 to head the new practice, and subsequently recruited Gareth Earl as a senior associate from Doughty Hanson. Glover, who has ‘expert knowledge of fund terms’, has already brought over key client EQT for its $4.25bn EQT VI fundraising. The team has also been appointed lead sponsor’s counsel to Arle Capital for certain Candover legacy funds.
Slaughter and May ‘compares very favourably to other more recognised investment funds firms’, with its partners providing ‘robust, commercial advice’, and is excellent for closed-ended listed funds. Practice head James Cripps is ‘very good, innovative, and has a wealth of experience’; and Robin Ogle ‘sees the bigger picture, so you get good and commercial advice’. Highlights included launching £460m Fidelity China Special Situations plc, and Polar Capital Alva Convertible Bond Fund Limited.
Speechly Bircham LLP’s team is ‘excellent – committed, pragmatic and wise’, and handles retail, listed and mid-market private equity funds. The ‘very knowledgeable and helpful’ Elizabeth Budd advised Newton Investment Management and BNY Mellon Fund Managers Limited on launching The SRI Fund for Charities. Vincent Mercer and assistant Sean Donovan-Smith provide ‘effective, pragmatic advice’. Group head Nick Janmohamed is also recommended.
Weil, Gotshal & Manges recruited four partners from Clifford Chance in June 2011 to found a fund formation team that looks set to flourish. Ed Gander is ‘commercially practical and gives sensible strategic advice’; Jonathan Kandel has ‘expert knowledge of private equity tax issues and their impact on structuring’; Nick Benson is ‘a proper funds lawyer’; and Nigel Clark is also recommended.
White & Case LLP’s expertise encompasses private equity, real estate and infrastructure. Practice head Matthew Judd is recommended.