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Robert Sutton

Robert Sutton is a partner of the Private Funds Group and a member of the Corporate Department. He is a seasoned practitioner with over 20 years of experience counseling managers and advisers of private funds on regulatory matters, as well as regulatory issues related to the formation and operation of private equity, credit, real estate, infrastructure, hedge and other private funds.

Rob has a deep knowledge of the market practice of asset managers and in particular, as it relates to Advisers Act-related issues. From some of the largest and most sophisticated firms in the global asset management industry to start-ups and mid-sized firms, Rob’s experience includes a wide spectrum of funds and asset classes across their life cycles. Rob regularly advises on matters in connection with: U.S. investment adviser registration and regulation; Advisers Act and other U.S. securities law issues relating to the formation, marketing and offering of private funds; Identifying and managing conflicts of interest, and addressing related Advisers Act risks, SEC examinations, and exam readiness preparation; Design and implementation of investment adviser compliance policies and procedures; U.S. regulatory issues relating to purchases and sales of investment advisory businesses (minority stake and control stake transactions, buy-side and sell-side representations); Advisers Act and other U.S. regulatory issues relating to private fund restructurings and recapitalizations, strip sales, continuation fund formations and similar transactions; Advisers Act issues relating to the formation of SPACs by investment advisers; and, Investment Company Act status analyses of private fund structures, investment transaction structures and other non-registered investment company structures.

Rob has been recognized by his clients and peers for his extraordinary work, gaining various accolades including mentions in preeminent directories such as The Legal 500.  He is also very active within the private funds industry, contributing to numerous publications and collaborating on several speaking engagements.

On January 29, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (“SEC”) and Commodity Futures Trading Commission (together, the “Agencies”) jointly announced that the compliance date for the new Form PF would be extended by three months, from March 12, 2025 to June 12, 2025.[1]

Filers whose fiscal quarter ended on December 31 will now have

The Corporate Transparency Act (CTA) requires all corporations, limited liability companies, limited partnerships, and many other entities created or registered to do business in any U.S. state to file a beneficial ownership interest report (BOI Report) with the U.S. Financial Crimes Enforcement Network (FinCEN). The BOI Report includes the ultimate beneficial owners of the entity

On December 3, 2024, the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Texas issued a nationwide injunction against enforcement of the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”). The Court found that without an injunction, compliance with the CTA will “almost certainly” cause “substantial, incompensable monetary costs and constitutional harm” to the plaintiffs. The Court

Following its adoption almost one year ago of amended rules accelerating filing deadlines for Schedules 13G and 13D (and the imminent effectiveness of the new deadlines for 13Gs), the SEC has continued to bring enforcement cases focusing on the timing of initial filings, amendments, and transitions from Schedule 13G to 13D, as well as Section

As reported today, Vice President Harris has announced Tim Walz, the sitting governor of Minnesota, as her running mate. This announcement is particularly significant for investment advisers due to the Advisers Act Political Contributions Rule, otherwise known as the “pay-to-play” rule.

Read the full post on The Capital Commitment blog.

On June 14, 2024, the SEC announced an enforcement action settlement with a Pennsylvania-based hedge fund manager for violating the Marketing Rule under the Investment Advisers Act. The SEC found that the adviser had misled investors by advertising a hedge fund’s investment performance based on the investment performance of a single investor in the fund. 

On May 16, 2024, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission announced the adoption of amendments to Regulation S-P that were proposed last year. The Final Amendments impose enhanced requirements on registered investment advisers, investment companies, broker dealers and transfer agents with respect to handling of consumer financial information.

Read the full client alert here.

On March 1, 2024, Judge Liles C. Burke of the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Alabama ruled that the Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) is unconstitutional[1], leaving its future uncertain. The CTA requires reporting companies to report to FinCEN information about their beneficial owners and company applicants and is intended to help prevent and combat money laundering, terrorist financing, tax fraud and other illicit activity.  The ruling enjoined U.S. Department of the Treasury, FinCEN and any other federal agency from enforcing the CTA against the plaintiffs but introduces uncertainty as to the applicability to other reporting companies. 

On November 13, 2023, FINRA filed with the SEC a proposal to amendment to Rule 2210 that would create a tailored exception from the general prohibition on projections in marketing materials and other communications with institutional investors, including marketing decks and pitch books for private placements in investment funds and other securities.

FINRA Rule 2210(d)(1)(F) currently prohibits any member from including a projected performance in a written communication — retail or institutional. The amendment would provide a limited exception for performance projections or targeted returns in written communications distributed or made available only to “institutional investors.” An “institutional investor” is defined in Rule 2210(a)(4) to include banks, insurance companies, government agencies, employee benefit plans, registered investment companies, registered investment advisers, as well as any other person (individual or entity) with total assets of at least $50 million.