Morris, Manning & Martin’s Funds & Alternative Investments practice utilizes an interdisciplinary approach to serve the wide ranging needs of our clients.  It is dedicated to the representation of all forms of alternative investment entities that raise and deploy capital. 

Members of the practice, including the firm’s Real Estate Capital Markets, Timberland and Insurance-Linked Securities practices, work together to meet clients’ requirements to create the optimal structure to suit the investment needs of our clients and their investors. This process commonly involves a complex interaction of various legal disciplines including, international and domestic tax; corporate finance; securities regulation; joint ventures; ERISA; and financial services regulatory requirements relating to the nature of the chosen vehicle, be it a REIT, open ended investment company, unit trust, common contractual fund, or investment limited partnership.

Members of the group possess top professional credentials and expertise in drafting operating agreements, disclosure documents, REIT charter documents and registration statements, real estate fund agreements and other fund documents.  They understand and have experience in securities law and in the preparation of disclosure documentation.  They also know the key tax and ERISA issues, for example UBTI, REOC, VCOC, FIRPTA and treaty tax regimes that affect funds structured as flow through entities.  The group’s tax members have experience with tax credit investment funds, including Affordable Housing Credits, Rehabilitation Credits, Energy Credits and NMTC.

Our fund representation includes the entire spectrum of investment strategies in terms of both business strategy and asset type. For example, we represent core, value-added and opportunity funds, as well as sector-specific funds, mezzanine loan funds, securities hedge funds, and funds that focus on structured finance products. We also represent institutional investors in connection with their fund investments, including insurance companies, ERISA and government pension plans, REITs, financial institutions, investment banking firms, and endowments.

We offer experience-based counseling throughout the life-cycle of a fund, including:

• Manager establishment
• Fund formation
• Marketing and investor relations
• Financing
• Negotiating service provider relationships
• Investment
• Regulatory registration and compliance
• Fund restructuring
• Dissolution

Another major aspect of our Funds & Alternative Investments Group practice involves the effective use of joint ventures to document transactions. The breadth of our tax, ERISA, corporate, and real estate experience enables us to effectively represent a broad array of clients consisting of private equity funds, public and private REITs, tax-exempt organizations, other institutional investors, and major developers in connection with the formation, structuring, acquisition and dispositions.

Real Estate Capital Markets – The Real Estate Capital Markets Practice at Morris, Manning & Martin has assisted clients in raising billions of dollars for deployment in real estate ventures. We represent real estate developers and operating companies, financial institutions, pension funds, institutional investors, investment advisors and asset managers with respect to their real estate investments, both in the U.S. and abroad. Our investment and development work touches every real estate asset class, including affordable housing, brownfield, condominium, hotel, industrial/distribution, mixed-use, multi-family, office, resort, retail, student housing, and timber.

Timberland – The Timberland Investments and Forest Products Practice at Morris, Manning & Martin consists of an integrated team of experienced lawyers from multiple disciplines that focus on the legal needs of businesses, financial institutions, individuals and investors in the timber and forest products industries.  Lawyers in our Timberland Investments and Forest Products Practice have extensive industry specific experience in the application of tax, fund formation and investor relations to the timberland and forest products industries.

Insurance Linked Securities – The Insurance-Linked Securities Practice at Morris, Manning & Martin has established a leading cross-disciplinary team of subject matter experts who offer a comprehensive range of services to the insurance industry.  The members of the practice represent leadership in the practice areas of tax, corporate finance and securities, securitization and structured finance, litigation, insurance and regulatory.  We provide counsel in all aspects of licensing, acquisitions, premium finance and fund structuring to commercial banks, hedge funds, investment banks and other financing entities, and life settlement brokers and providers in connection with structuring, negotiating and executing numerous domestic and international insurance-linked securities transactions.