Mutual Funds & Investment Advisers

JORDEN BURT's Mutual Funds & Investment Advisers Industry Group is comprised of lawyers with national reputations in the investment products field. Industry group partners include former SEC staff members who have both regulatory and enforcement experience and others who have practiced in both corporate and private practice for decades. The Firm's lawyers have extensive knowledge and experience in counseling mutual funds, investment advisers, brokerage firms, and service providers that are involved in the distribution and servicing of mutual fund and other investment company products. Our professionals have expertise in the legal fields of particular importance to the mutual fund and investment advisory businesses, including securities law, tax, and ERISA. Our knowledge also covers the spectrum of recent regulatory law changes relevant to mutual funds and investment advisers including Sarbanes-Oxley, privacy law, electronic commerce, and anti-money laundering compliance. We have particular knowledge in issues relating to variable insurance products funds.

In connection with both public and insurance-affiliated investment companies, the Firm provides advice and assistance in the design, organization, and operation of mutual funds, registration of mutual funds and related entities, and compliance with applicable state and federal regulatory requirements. We also counsel and represent our clients in connection with routine and targeted regulatory inquiries and investigations. Our practice also includes advice regarding unregistered investment entities including investment company status questions. The Firm regularly advises investment advisers and brokerage firms as to issues unrelated to investment company operations.

With regard to insurance-related services, the Firm's partners have been pioneers in the field of variable insurance products and variable insurance products funds. This specialty includes advice and assistance in the design and registration with the SEC of variable insurance products and variable insurance product funds, the preparation of applications to the SEC for necessary exemptive relief, no-action requests, and consultation as to ongoing compliance issues, tax advice, review of advertising, and advice to issuers and brokerage firms as to related distribution issues.

The Firm is widely regarded as one of the leading firms in class action defense and consumer fraud litigation involving the marketing and structure of financial products. This litigation has included defending alleged RICO, ERISA, securities, common law, intellectual property, commercial, and constitutional claims, as well as appellate litigation. We regularly defend major cases nationally. In the vast majority of these cases, we have been successful in either dismissing the cases or defeating class certification. Our lawyers direct the defense of the litigation, draft all significant pleadings and motions, argue all significant hearings, and try the cases as first or second chair, depending on the dynamics of the local venue. We also have developed an unparalleled network of top local trial lawyers to assist in local hearings, discovery, and trial work.

The Firm provides counseling and representation in connection with SEC and NASD routine and cause examinations and investigations. Our firm includes former SEC enforcement attorneys and prosecutors with experience handling complex securities law matters, including cases involving mutual funds and investment advisers. Our Firm also has an active white collar criminal defense practice.

OUR SERVICES

The Mutual Funds & Investment Advisers Industry Group offers a full range of services, including:

• Counsel clients on reorganization of mutual fund portfolios
  
  
• Obtain multi-manager relief for mutual funds
  

• Advise mutual funds and their investment advisers with respect to potential market timing issues involving fund sub-advisers
  

• Advise insurance company issuing variable insurance products with respect to potential market timing issues
  

• Counsel mutual funds with respect to adoption of Rule 12b-1 plan and prepare proxy solicitation materials for approval of plan and replacement of fund sub-advisers
  

• Advise clients with respect to design and implementation of anti-money laundering procedures, including customer identification programs
  

• Obtain precedent-setting exemptive relief to permit exchange of certain affiliated variable insurance products