PHILADELPHIA – Stradley Ronon Attorney George Michael Gerstein, co-chair of the Fiduciary Governance Group, met with several hedge fund managers throughout the U.S. and in Asia to discuss strategies in structuring private funds to avoid being subject to the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974 (ERISA) and related state laws. Gerstein also explored with the investment managers best practices when complying with ERISA and the rules and regulations applicable to governmental plans.
Gerstein advises financial institutions on the fiduciary and prohibited transaction provisions of ERISA. As co-chair of the fiduciary governance group, he assists clients with tracking, and understanding, the numerous fiduciary developments at the federal and state levels, including the rules and regulations of governmental plans. He also advises clients with respect to the fiduciary duty implications of ESG investing.
Stradley’s fiduciary governance group counsels investment committees and intermediaries, such as investment advisers, banks, broker-dealers, retirement plan/IRA service providers, insurance providers and mutual fund directors, by identifying and making sense of this regulatory patchwork and helping clients understand the interplay of federal and state rules on 1) whether they owe a fiduciary or best interest duty to their customers, and 2) if so, the specific requirements that flow from such status. Moreover, the group keeps clients ahead of the curve by identifying emerging trends in the fiduciary landscape, such as environmental, social & governance (ESG) investing, through fiduciarygovernanceblog.com, webinars and written alerts. The fiduciary governance group also actively tracks the burgeoning state legislative efforts to impose fiduciary or comparable investment advice standards of care.
Stradley Ronon’s private investment funds practice provides both fund sponsors and institutional investors with practical, high quality service tailored to the specific needs of our clients. Offering sophisticated, comprehensive and effective advice on private investment fund issues, from creative structuring, regulatory and tax guidance to management and operations throughout a fund’s life cycle to providing legal due diligence, advising on market practices and negotiating side letters. We couple the resources of our nationally recognized investment management practice with Stradley Ronon attorneys who focus on securities, commodities, derivatives, corporate, real estate, structured finance, tax and ERISA matters to provide comprehensive and seamless service.
About Stradley Ronon
Counseling clients since 1926, Stradley Ronon has helped private and public companies – from small businesses to Fortune 500 corporations – achieve their goals by providing pragmatic, value-driven legal counsel. With offices in eight strategic locations, our responsive team of more than 200 attorneys seamlessly addresses the full spectrum of our clients’ needs, ranging from sophisticated corporate transactions to complex commercial litigation.