Asset Management

Davis Graham & Stubbs LLP has one of the most active asset management practices in the Rocky Mountain West. We have served asset management clients since 1960; those clients include investment advisers, registered open- and closed-end investment companies, hedge funds, broker dealers, venture capital sponsors, and private equity and real estate investment vehicles.

At present, we represent over 33 registered investment advisers (most of whom are SEC registered), with approximately $37 billion of assets under management. These advisers serve clients in the mutual fund, hedge fund, venture capital fund, and real estate fund industries, as well as offer financial planning services and separate account management. We also represent the independent trustees and funds, as applicable, of several mutual fund complexes (comprised of nearly 120 funds) with over $15 billion of assets under management. These open- and closed-end mutual funds encompass traditional retail and variable insurance product platforms, including municipal bond funds and alternative investment funds.

We also have extensive experience representing investment advisers, broker dealers, and other financial service companies, as well as private equity firms that invest in these types of companies, in significant corporate transactions, including mergers, acquisitions, divestitures, and investment transactions. In this capacity, we advise our clients on all legal aspects associated with these transactions, including structuring, analysis of tax consequences, due diligence, and preparation and negotiation of definitive transaction documents. Importantly, we are also intimately familiar with the issues unique to this industry with respect to these types of transactions, including regulatory approvals and requirements, retention of key personnel, and allocation of market-based risk.

The size and sophistication of our practice gives us a deep understanding of a wide variety of fund structures, investment alternatives, and regulatory issues. And because we work with funds, investment advisers, real estate groups, venture capitalists, and private equity firms every day, we are able to stay current on new and evolving deal terms as the investment marketplace changes.

We have extensive fund formation experience with mutual funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, real estate funds, and other investment vehicles. We advise our clients on appropriate management structures, prepare governing documents incorporating the control, transfer, and tax concerns of managers and their investors, and review marketing materials and other business activities for compliance with applicable laws. We provide advice on the registration or qualification of securities offered and sold by these pooled vehicles under the federal and state securities laws. Our asset management attorneys also work with investment advisers on issues arising under securities, corporate, tax, intellectual property, employment, and employee benefits laws. We counsel on operational aspects of funds, including trading arrangements, compliance with reporting obligations, investor-related obligations, and, where appropriate, fund adoption, replication, or liquidation.

Our asset management team is widely recognized as one of the best mutual funds practices in the region. We are one of the few Rocky Mountain firms to have been frequently recognized with a national ranking for Mutual Funds Law in the Best Lawyers® “Best Law Firms” guide. A co-chair of our Asset Management Group has been twice individually recognized by Best Lawyers^® as Denver’s Mutual Fund Lawyer of the Year. Additionally, many of our other lawyers are also individually recognized by Best Lawyers®, Super Lawyers and other similar organizations.