Financial Services

Stradley Ronon represented Invesco Capital Management in the launch of the Invesco QQQ Equal Weight ETF (QEW on the Nasdaq), expanding Invesco’s QQQ Innovation Suite to 11 funds with approximately $456 billion in combined assets under management. The exchange-traded fund (ETF) tracks the Nasdaq-100 Equal Weighted Index, which provides investors with exposure to leading growth companies while reducing concentration in the largest holdings.

Stradley Ronon previously represented Invesco Capital Management in a first-of-its-kind conversion of the $400 billion Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1.

Invesco Ltd. is one of the world's leading asset management firms with $2.2 trillion in assets under management as of December 31. Learn more in Invesco’s announcement.

Stradley Ronon advised 1st Colonial Bancorp Inc., the parent company of Mount Laurel, New Jersey-based 1st Colonial Community Bank, in a merger agreement with Harrisburg, Pennsylvania-based Mid Penn Bancorp Inc. in which Mid Penn acquired 1st Colonial in a cash and stock transaction valued at approximately $106.1 million. In connection with the holding company merger, 1st Colonial Community Bank was merged with and into Mid Penn’s subsidiary bank, Mid Penn Bank.

The transaction, which was completed on February 27, further expands Mid Penn’s presence in the Greater Philadelphia area and southern New Jersey.

Stradley Ronon represented Customers Bancorp, a bank holding public company that operates through its wholly owned banking subsidiary Customers Bank, in the closing of its underwritten public offering of $100 million in aggregate principal amount of its 6.875% fixed-to-floating-rate subordinated notes due 2036.  

Customers is one of the nation’s top-performing banking companies with over $24 billion in assets, making it one of the 80 largest bank holding companies in the United States. 

This is the second public offering the firm completed for Customers in the second half of 2025.

Stradley Ronon represented Invesco Capital Management in a first-of-its-kind conversion of the $400 billion Invesco QQQ Trust, Series 1, from an exchange-traded fund (ETF) organized as a unit investment trust (UIT) to an ETF organized as an open-end management investment company.

As a result of the December 22 conversion, shareholders of QQQ will be able to enjoy the benefits of a modernized structure and will benefit from a reduced total expense ratio, resulting in a 10% fee reduction for shareholders. In addition, Invesco will be able to earn a profit from its management of the fund for the first time. Under the Investment Company Act of 1940, sponsors of a UIT are prohibited from charging a UIT any fees that include an element of profit, and the conversion has removed that limitation.

Invesco is an independent global investment firm managing $2.1 trillion in assets under management for both retail and institutional investors as of September 30.

Learn more in Invesco’s announcement.

Stradley Ronon represented Lenis Group, a Slovenian-based full-service regional commercialization and distribution partner for niche and specialty prescription medicines in Central and Eastern Europe, in the sale of a majority ownership stake to Great Point Partners, a U.S.-based private investment firm focused on the healthcare industry. The transaction was announced on December 10; the value was undisclosed.

The acquisition will support Lenis’ regional expansion and accelerate its vision of broadening access to high-quality specialty medicines across Central and Eastern Europe.

Read the announcement.

Stradley Ronon worked with BNY Investments Dreyfus (Dreyfus) in the launch of the BNY Dreyfus Stablecoin Reserves Fund, one of the first stablecoin reserve money market funds. Established after the enactment of the Guiding and Establishing National Innovation for U.S. Stablecoins (GENIUS) Act, which created the first comprehensive regulatory framework for payment stablecoins, the BNY Dreyfus Stablecoin Reserves Fund is intended to function as a permitted reserve vehicle for payment stablecoin issuers under the GENIUS Act. The signing of the GENIUS Act creates potential new use cases for money market funds, positioning these funds at the forefront of a new chapter in the digital assets industry.

Stradley Ronon represents the BNY family of mutual funds. Dreyfus, the affiliated liquidity solutions provider of BNY, manages over $300 billion in money market fund assets. The BNY Dreyfus Stablecoin Reserves Fund launched on November 13.

After 10 years of litigation, a Stradley Ronon team has secured summary judgment on behalf of a bank in the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit in a complex case involving a multimillion-dollar burglary affecting a safe deposit box.

The plaintiff, an LLC formed solely to pursue this lawsuit, filed suit over the theft. Central to the dispute was the ownership of the box’s contents and whether the LLC had standing to bring the claim. During discovery, the individuals who rented the box admitted they did not own the items inside and instead asserted they were holding the items for an unidentified third party.

In response, the bank argued the renters lacked the authority to transfer ownership or title to the contents of the box. Furthermore, the bank contended that the assignment on which the lawsuit was based was invalid, as it failed to convey ownership or title of the stolen contents.

On summary judgment, the bank raised defenses for lack of standing and an invalid assignment. The plaintiff opposed the motion and also sought leave to amend its complaint in an attempt to cure the standing deficiencies. The U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York ruled in favor of the bank, dismissing the case for lack of standing and denying the plaintiff’s request to amend as untimely, prejudicial and futile.

On appeal, the Second Circuit upheld the district court’s dismissal, bringing this long-running litigation to a close. The victory reinforces the importance of legal precision and the critical need to assert jurisdictional defenses at the inception of any case.

Stradley Ronon advised Oak Hill Wealth Advisors, a wealth management firm based in Lansdowne, Virginia, in its merger with Cerity Partners, a full-service wealth management firm serving high- and ultra-high-net-worth individuals and their families, businesses and their leadership teams, and nonprofit organizations. The transaction closed on September 30; the value was undisclosed.

Oak Hill will operate under the Cerity Partners name. The partnership will expand Cerity Partners’ footprint in the Washington, D.C., market and is expected to enhance offerings to high-net-worth families, including generational wealth planning, financial and retirement planning, and investment management services.

Stradley Ronon represented Customers Bancorp, a bank holding company that operates through its wholly owned banking subsidiary, Customers Bank, in its $172.5 million underwritten public offering of common stock. Customers intends to use the net proceeds from the offering to fund organic growth and for other general corporate purposes.

Pennsylvania-based Customers is one of the top-performing banking companies in the United States with more than $22 billion in assets.

Stradley Ronon represented Pennsylvania-based Silvi Materials, a vertically integrated leader in construction materials, in its acquisition of Eagle Rock Concrete, a premier ready-mix concrete producer based in North Carolina. The transaction closed September 2.

The combined company will operate as Eagle Rock Concrete, a Silvi Materials Company. This acquisition represents Silvi’s expansion into the Southeast U.S. construction market, bringing nine high-production ready-mix plants in the Raleigh-Durham area.

The firm represented Yieldstreet Management, a leading private markets investment platform providing expanded alternative investments access to investors, in a $200 million investment in fintech powersports consumer loans acquired from, and to be serviced by, Octane Lending Inc. and its affiliate Roadrunner Financial. The investment was made with both equity investments from Yieldstreet investors and debt financing provided by JPMorgan Chase Bank NA. This was the third transaction in which Stradley Ronon represented Yieldstreet in making powersports loan purchases from Octane.

For more information, read Octane’s announcement.