The Legal 500 > Europe, Middle East & Africa > Netherlands > Investment funds

‘We appreciate the practical approach and hands on mentality.’

‘This team is the best you can get in the Netherlands when it comes to investment funds. They have substantive knowledge and experience and rightfully have this reputation for many years now.’

‘Kees Groffen is the undisputed authority within this team. He is very approachable and knowledgeable. Furthermore, Kees is a hands-on lawyer who works pragmatically and comes up with real solutions.’

‘Minke Hoekstra also deserves special mention as with her extensive experience as in-house lawyer within asset managers, she is really able to think like her customers. ’

‘Responsive and practical.’

‘Kees Groffen has extensive knowledge and authority in the field, but at the same time is very practical. Mariska Enzerink is the rising star in Kees’ team and is a pleasure to work with: very responsive and knowledgeable. ’

‘The Investment funds practice of De Brauw is a team of very kind and knowledgeable professionals. They are constantly in close contact with supervisors and body industry groups and have always accurate knowledge of recent developments. ’

‘Apart from the state of the art knowledge, I very much value the accessibility of the individuals working in this team and their quick turn arounds if necessary. ’

‘I work with De Brauw in my capacity as legal & regulatory policy advisor. I am always very impressed by their willingness to put time and resources into the common good and advocating the interests of the sector. Both on the national and international level their knowledge is top-notch, and in international fora I am always very pleased to have them by my side. Few other Dutch firms would fit or survive in this top tier European league, but for de Brauw this seems like their natural habitat.’

‘The people I work with seem very genuinely interested in the subject matter, and very willing to put aside short term interests of their own firm for longer term interests of the sector as a whole. That is a quality that is to be truly admired. Special praise should go to Kees Groffen and Minke Hoekstra who take part in both national and international fora, but also ad hoc special sessions or questions. The time and energy they spend for the common good is to be lauded.’

‘The team offers excellent, sharp advisory services both in the area of corporate law and financial law which is an ideal combination. The team is able to think out of the box and suggest creative, innovative solutions new to the market place. Their close contacts with Dutch regulators add value to our day to day business as well as putting implementing entirely new solutions. This team puts the interests of their clients first instead of putting the focus on billing the client and maximizing billable hours.’

‘We highly appreciate working with Mariska Enzerink in particular and have been working very closely with her for many years. She is not only a top notch lawyer from a content perspective but she is also very easy to deal with, pragmatic, pro-active, committed and offers quick turnaround times. ’

‘What we value most from this firm is the fact that they provide very pragmatic advice and are able to help us think through most issues with both a legal and commercial lens. Prior to being formally appointed for a mandate, they are always available to assist us in the preliminary stage of a project without charging us trusting that we will come back to them if the project materialises. This is great added-value from the firm.’

‘Mariska Enzerink – very knowledgeable – very clear advice.’

‘Kees Groffen – always straight to the point and help addressing key issues very effectively.’

‘The team is very involved in all requests made. They are very dedicated.’

‘Oscar van Angeren – Very dedicated, always happy to service. Daan Horsthuis – a very capable lawyer. Always very cooperative. Julia Nesselaar – always happy to look into solutions even in challenging times. Wouter Ekkelkamp – a very capable notary. Harm Plas – a very capable lawyer. Always very cooperative.’

‘This Houthoff team performs at top speed with worthwhile advice. The team has three levels; normal business at normal price, difficult advice and support at serious price and top quality from the Partner himself. The internal checks are efficient and fast, the services of the entire team are top.’

‘Houthoff has hired best in class lawyers. Yorick Kool is great for the day-to-day support, Daan Horsthuis supports with the Funds we’re building and has extensive knowledge of what’s doable and what’s not, Oscar van Angeren supports us with special advice and is the coordinator of the business. I know Oscar for years now. He has a fabulous memory of what we have discussed and agreed upon in the past. If any issues occur he is available and supports both clients and our own interests on a very integer basis. So to say: Oscar is fair; I appreciate this highly.’ 

‘Loyens & Loeff’s investment management practice offers truly integrated services. They smoothly combine tax, legal and regulatory aspects in their approach. They are very experienced and reliable, react fast and are always to-the-point. We highly appreciate their experience and great network among financial market and tax authorities. They provide excellent materials for our local tax and legal & regulatory committees and by contributing to yearly recurring training programs for both junior and senior investment managers.’

‘Marco de Lignie has been in the lead for a long time and is always up-to-date and willing to share his experience and knowledge. He has often noticed issues to work on before we knew of them. He brings in experts from tax areas, legal and regulatory when needed and is the driver behind better cooperation between European and local committees that work on better tax legislation in Europe and the Netherlands. Just a great person to work together with.’

‘All top tier advisors – technical skills outstanding – they combine this with hands on advice.’

‘The Loyens team works collaboratively, efficiently, and quite creatively. Together with Loyens, we have essentially invented a unique Venture Fund set-up, which was necessary due to our particular mandate, style, investors and the diverse geographies that we invest in. This has meant that Loyens has had to pull in partners from diverse practice groups to work with us as a flexible and fast-moving team. All of this is accomplished in a cohesive and collegiate fashion that is distinct and much appreciated.’

‘The practice leader Joep Ottervanger is one of the very best in the Dutch Investment Funds advisory business. Always available, extensive knowledge, hands on and internationally experienced, he brings the extra mile to his clients facilitating smart solutions.’

‘Under the lead of Joep Ottervanger the Investment Funds practice is a service orientated and solutions driven team with in depth knowledge on the investment funds market.’

‘On top of the current developments, good network within government agencies. Pragmatic, and focused.’

‘They offer a full service approach combining the different disciplines. Seem to be most knowledgeable of market practices.’ 

‘Joep Ottervanger has shown the perfect balance for us between high quality and efficiency. He has proved to be present when needed.’

‘They are good lawyers, very experienced, highly approachable and always willing to walk the extra mile. I appreciate Vilmar Feenstra’s hands-on approach as well as his thorough understanding of what is considered market practice.’

‘Larissa Silverentand is a highly qualified expert in Dutch and European financial markets regulation combined with excellent knowledge of the financial markets. What makes her stand out from the rest is that she is able to deliver and summarize very complicated and technically detailed legislation in a way that it is understandable to non-legal experts. ’

‘The Dutch mortgage market is quite unique in that in recent years many investment funds have been set up to facilitate the direct investment in consumer mortgages through investment funds. NautaDutilh have been instrumental in developing the transaction and fund structure. Seamless teamwork with the asset & structured finance team have made this possible and contributed greatly to the success of many of NautaDutilh’s clients.’

‘Frans van der Eerden (together with Michaela Ulrici from the asset & structured finance team) have set the benchmark in the Dutch market for the mortgage investment fund structure.’

‘Frans and Michaela are the go-to partners for anyone considering entering the Dutch market with a mortgage or consumer finance proposition.’

‘Their combined knowledge and ability to find fitting solutions are well-known and the reason they are asked to provide counsel on most if not all transactions in the Dutch market.’

‘Frans van der Erden has been particularly helpful to our clients. Very pragmatic and great at explaining the issues.’

‘Very experienced in regulatory matters around investment management business ’

‘Pleasant cooperation with all involved (partners & associates). practical approach. ’

‘The team led by Alexander Chester have excellent skills and knowledge in the Investment funds practice, who are assisting us on a daily basis with setting up complex carry and co-investment structures. Compared with other firms Clifford Chance is able to better handle the complexity of our schemes and very high pace in which we are setting them up. Unlike many other firms, Clifford is able to always arrange for their teams to be perfectly staffed for dealing with the high workload we are bringing them.’

‘Alexander Chester is an excellent lawyer, who is always able to find a super practical solution rather than throwing extensive memos. Alex really helps our working more efficient.’

‘Tjerk de Jonge is a rising star, who has an excellent skill-set as both a corporate but also as an investment fund lawyer. Always finds the most practical no-nonsense solution for complex issues. ’

‘Strong combinations of regulatory, legal and funds practice. High quality cross border advice on complex structures. ’

‘Michiel Sunderman: excellent fiscal lawyer, with extensive knowledge of the manner in which funds can be set up. Marian Scheele: regulatory expert.’

‘The team is energetic, knowledgeable and easy to work with and can leverage on a vast international network.’

‘Ate is a very nice person, hands-on and on top of things.’

‘Solution oriented thinkers, experienced and able to grasp the core of complicated multi party negotiations on structured capital products for funds.’ 

‘Ate Veenstra – ability to move forward when negotiations get stuck through new approaches/introducing alternative angles and get the process back on track. Creative thinker and pleasant and reasonable person, making the counterparty readily accept his proposals.’

‘Ate Veenstra, Harmen Wielens and Pim Stokman of the Investments Funds team consistently provide high quality clear advice in a reliable and timely manner. They are very responsive and well connected with other practice groups within Jones Day. Where we have needed advice outside the investment funds space Ate, Harmen and Pim have been able to quickly connect us with other colleagues in the appropriate practice space (i.e., corporate/tax/M&A). They also have a great communication and relationship with the Dutch regulator as well as deep knowledge of the local market which is very helpful for our cross-border matters.’

‘The team truly works as an integrated team representing extensive experience in the investment fund industry on both the regulatory (including corporate law) and tax side. Their turn around is quick and their advice is spot on, having seen so many different transactions and structures in the past. They can adequately advise on the ‘need’ or ‘nice to haves’ when negotiating terms and conditions.’

‘Both Ate Veenstra and Quirine Eenhorst, as joint co-leaders of the investment funds team stand out because of their extensive years long and relevant experience in the fund/investment management practice and because they both truly act as an integrated team on tax and regulatory matters.’

‘The team’s ability to apply their unsurpassed knowledge to develop innovative solutions is their core strength. ’

‘Though Jones Day is an international firm, they operate as a local trusted party. Best of both worlds.’

‘Quirine Eenhorst is a very professional advisor, able to quickly think on her feet. She is available 24/7 and easily measures up against her peers at international law firms. Would recommend her to anybody active in the PE space.’

‘In-depth knowledge of structuring investment funds, also across border structuring. Striving for the best solution in both legal and tax. The team does not feel as a third party, but as an in-house legal team where the interests are aligned, at the same time they are very pleasant working with. The team is quick responding to questions and thinks in solutions rather then obstacles. ’

‘Ate Veenstra, Quirine Eenhorst and Anouk in den Kleef stood by us during challenging discussions and showed persistence, enthusiasm, flexibility and in the end getting the ball across the line. ’

‘The team is very knowledgeable in the area of investment funds. It has the technical know-how which is very important in that practice area. It is clear that this is their day-to-day business and not something where they only have the theoretical knowledge, but also the practical knowledge. There are in my view not that many firms in The Netherlands that have that type of practice. The team is very responsive and is able to turn around high quality documents quickly. ’

‘At the partner level, we have mainly been working with Marcel van den Nieuwenhuijzen. He is doing a great job, is highly knowledgeable in the area of investment funds, also on complex technical matters. He is easy to work with, is bright, hard-working and very responsive. ’

‘Orange Clover has a very dedicated team of seasoned professionals which have a long history at magic circle and other prominent law firms. They provide top quality advice with significant involvement of partners/seniors, for a very reasonable price.’

‘Very experienced partners and seniors which offer high quality work and which are very committed and close to their clients (as opposed to large teams with many juniors). Alex Gonzalez is a key person, in particular with respect to regulatory aspects.’

‘Strong capacity, good accessibility.’

‘Marcel is excellent in fund structuring and fund reviews.’

‘Orange Clover are no longer the new kids on the block but have become an established and trusted advisor to global financial institutions, particularly on regulatory matters. Expertise covers private investment funds, trading and payments law.’

‘Alex Gonzalez stands out as a pragmatic, user-friendly lawyer who understands the issues but can help clients make an informed decision about risk.’

‘Orange Clover is a relatively small firm that has all the benefit of large firms. Extremely experienced, fast and dedicated with sufficient lawyers to scale up to lager teams.’

‘We often work with Marcel van den Nieuwenhuijzen, an excellent lawyer capable of instantly providing creative solutions. ’

‘Sensible persons with the experience of the bigger law firms combined in a niche Amsterdam law firm. The team has a clear focus on specific areas.’

‘Marcel van den Nieuwenhuijzen is the partner I work with most. He is a nice guy to work with, sticks to his area of expertise and has a global view on matters. Especially when analyzing the set up of funds. Where professionals sometimes focus too much on their country of origin, Marcel takes an open view on what country would be best for the case at hand.’

‘We worked mainly with Marcel van de Nieuwenhuizen. Compared to other firms he is very approachable and creates quickly deal teams of other specialties needed in the business case. The team of Orange Clover responses are quick and accurate.’

‘Marcel van de Nieuwenhuijzen is to the point with a focus on the content. Combined with his communication and connection skills he creates value in the process.’