Find Lawyers in Frankfurt/Main, Germany for Private Funds

Generally, the phrase “private funds” refers to certain investment funds that are primarily designed for institutional investors and offered to them on a private placement basis rather than by public offering. The term “funds” is not a legal, but an economic term and covers various types of (individual or typically collective) investment schemes for investment purposes, which may differ with respect to investment strategies, jurisdictions, and legal forms/structures, e.g., corporate or partnership structures, contractual structures. The fund pools capital from investors and sets forth the relationship between the parties involved, i.e., the investors and the fund manager. Investors are predominantly professional investors such as banks, insurance companies, pension funds, corporations, endowments, foundations, funds of funds, and other institutional investors.

The relevant areas of law range from tax and regulatory law to corporate and contract law. In addition to national legislation, European legislation has increasingly been adopted in the field of private investment funds, especially over the last couple of years, and may be further developed.

Private funds legal services may include the following:

•     "GP Advice": Advising the fund manager and its team on structuring and formation of investment vehicles, considering the full range of tax, contractual, and regulatory requirements to meet the needs of international investors, the fund manager and its team (including internationally accepted market standard fund terms);

•     Structuring of management companies (fund manager) and planning of carried interest (profit-sharing) and management fees (VAT issues);

•     Advising on regulatory aspects (e.g., EU AIFM-Directive and the German Capital Investment Act), such as assessment and advice for fund managers with respect to national registration requirements and applicable regulatory regimes;

•     Advising on marketing and placement of private funds to institutional investors (e.g., national registration requirements and regulatory regimes in relevant jurisdictions), as well as designing retail fund solutions for funds to be marketed to retail investors, including registration procedures;

•     "LP Advice": Advising investors considering an investment in private funds by performing term reviews of private funds and negotiating amendments of the relevant fund agreements, including side letter agreements (e.g., reflecting requirements pursuant to the German Insurance Supervisory Act);

•     Conducting various kinds of secondary transactions representing general partners, buyers, and sellers, such as individual transfers and portfolio transactions;

•     Advising on, preparing, and leading tax and regulatory rulings and audits;

•     Litigation and dispute resolution with regard to private funds.