Services

For CPOs and CTAs, Anderson PLC:

• Advises on formation, organization, and capitalization of the entity, drafts Commodities Futures Trading Commission registration and self-regulatory organization and exchange membership applications, business plans, and written supervisory policies and procedures, assists in the preparation of pre-membership reviews, and advises on continuing membership documentation and other regulatory approvals
• Advises on, and drafts documentation relating to, general partner / management company structuring, formation, ownership, capitalization, and governance, including with respect to arrangements among principals, and employee compensation and retention matters
• Drafts and negotiates seed, follow-on, joint venture, and other management-company capitalization transactions
• Reviews, drafts, analyzes, and negotiates investment pool offering, disclosure, and periodic reporting documentation, including private placement and other offering memoranda
• Counsels on pool governance structures, including regarding board and committee composition, documentation, and risk identification and reporting processes, including in relation to approvals, continuance of management contracts, and conflict oversight and mitigation
• Develops written policies and procedures for, and advises on questions regarding, pool compliance with requirements and exemptions under Commodity Futures Trading Commission and other rules and regulations, including the Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Securities Act of 1933, and the Investment Company Act of 1940 (including, among others, regarding “inadvertent investment company” issues)
• Designs and implements comprehensive and independent diagnostic regulatory risk management reviews to identify gaps and weaknesses in the client’s governance, supervisory, and other regulatory compliance processes
• Drafts practical, “plain English” supervisory and compliance manuals customized to the client’s business and operational risks
• Advises on appropriate supervisory structures and reporting relationships intended to avoid fiduciary and “failure-to-supervise” liability, and drafts supervisory policies and procedures
• Identifies and evaluates, and advises on how to mitigate, internal and external conflicts of interest
• Advises on questions regarding the internal interpretation and enforcement of the client’s policies and procedures
• Drafts, reviews, and negotiates agreements, including management agreements, standardized and party-specific account agreements, separately managed account agreements, sub-advisory agreements, side letters, trading counter-party agreements, research agreements, engagement letters, introducing broker agreements, and vendor agreements
• Designs and develops practical, effective testing and surveillance procedures and programs, customized to the client’s business
• Advises on legal, regulatory, and operational issues related to the development and launch of new pools and accounts, and drafts and negotiates selling and product-distribution agreements
• Counsels on real-time trading issues, including in relation to issues involving position limits (including related aggregation requirements), bunched trades, wash trading, and disruptive trading
• Designs and develops policies and procedures governing privacy, cybersecurity, trade allocation, and best execution obligations, and periodic and other position and portfolio valuations
• Counsels on the design and implementation of execution, valuation, risk management, new product, and other committees, and drafts committee charters, policies, and procedures
• Designs and develops policies and procedures governing investor relations, investor onboarding, and marketing units, including with respect to subscription documentation and requirements
• Reviews standardized and unique advertising / marketing and performance reporting materials and communications
• Designs and develops due diligence / review processes relating to proposed products, sub-adviser relationships, and investment opportunities
• Advises on the application of federal and state “pay-to-play” regulations, and designs and drafts relevant policies and procedures
• Counsels on pool governance and liquidity issues, including in relation to redemption requests, the application of gates, and lock-up requirements
• Advises operations and other staff on trade clearance and settlement documentation and processes, position transfers, and account-opening documentation
• Designs and develops, and provides training regarding, policies and procedures relating to compliance with U.S. anti-money laundering regulations and the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act
• Advises in-house lawyers and compliance officers regarding risks and duties unique to those roles
• Trains management and other employee groups, including portfolio managers, research analysts, traders, program developers and engineers, operations staff, treasury staff, and senior and junior compliance officers, regarding ongoing and novel and unique regulatory requirements
• Designs and develops policies and procedures relating to record-keeping obligations (including with respect to retaining and producing electronic communications)
• Advises on due diligence requirements and processes related to the retention or use of third-party service-providers
• Designs and develops practical disaster recovery / business continuity plans
• Counsels on preparing for, responding to, and defending formal and informal Commodities Futures Trading Commission, National Futures Association, and exchange inquiries, examinations, and investigations, including through designing and conducting confidential mock examinations of the client’s compliance program, supervisory processes, and internal controls
• Formulates and drafts responses to regulators’ deficiency letters and findings
• Advises on managing and responding to the client’s financial and / or reputational crisis
• Designs and develops broad-based and targeted remediation and regulatory reporting programs in response to the proposed or completed settlement of enforcement matters
• Advises on disclosure obligations that follow from, or that are part of resolving, regulatory investigations and enforcement actions, including where required to continue in business
• Counsels regarding the timing and content of self-reporting rule violations to the Commodities Futures Trading Commission and other regulatory authorities
• Obtains formal and informal regulatory interpretations and no-action or exemptive relief
• Drafts and negotiates a wide variety of commercial contracts
• Advises on business process and other outsourcing projects
• In relation to asset and stock purchase, carve-out, joint venture, and other strategic transactions, advises on due diligence requirements and processes; drafts and negotiates confidentiality and non-disclosure documents, term sheets, letters of intent, and definitive transaction documentation; advises on obtaining regulatory approvals; and designs and develops post-closing management, operational, and risk management integration plans
• Provides real-time monitoring of regulatory and legal developments affecting the industry and the relevant markets