Our attorneys provide cutting-edge advice to private equity, real estate and hedge fund managers on compliance with the fiduciary requirements in the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) as they relate to the investment in those funds by ERISA-covered employee benefit plans. We counsel investment manager clients on how to avoid becoming an ERISA fiduciary or, if fiduciary status is unavoidable, on how to fully comply in the operation of the fund with the standard of conduct applicable to ERISA fiduciaries. We draft necessary ERISA-related disclosures in fund offering documents.
Our attorneys review proposed investments in private equity and other funds on behalf of ERISA plan investors to determine if the investment would raise fiduciary breach or prohibited transaction issues. We negotiate acceptable terms of the transaction with investment managers, including restructuring of the fund, to eliminate these ERISA issues. We provide ongoing review of fund operations to ensure that the fund continues to comply with applicable ERISA requirements. We also resolve disputes between our investment manager or ERISA plan clients and the U.S. Department of Labor, including obtaining advisory opinions and prohibited transaction exemptions.
