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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.

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The SEC has rescinded Rule 202.5(e), the no-admit/no-deny policy originally adopted in 1972 that prohibited settling defendants from publicly denying the allegations in an SEC complaint or administrative order. The SEC can still settle cases on a no-admissions basis, and can still seek admissions in particular cases, but settling parties will no longer be…

On March 17, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued interpretive guidance addressing how existing federal securities laws apply to certain types of crypto assets and certain transactions involving crypto assets (the “Interpretation”). The Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) joined the guidance and confirmed its staff would administer the Commodity Exchange Act…

Welcome to the FinReg Monthly Update, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK, EU and U.S. financial services regulation.

Key developments in January 2026:

Asset Management / Wealth Management

2 February – Client Categorisation: The United Kingdom Financial Conduct Authority’s (“FCA”) consultation paper (CP25/36) on its proposals to amend the client…

  • FinCEN has now adopted its previously‑proposed two‑year delay in the effective date for the investment adviser AML rule (including the requirements to establish AML programs and file SARs) until January 1, 2028.
  • FinCEN also reaffirmed its intent to use this period to further review and tailor the rule, and it
…

Welcome to the FinReg Monthly Update, a regular bulletin highlighting the latest developments in UK, EU and U.S. financial services regulation.

Key developments in December 2025:

Asset Management / Wealth Management

18 December – AIFMD 2.0 Liquidity Management Tools: European Securities and Markets Authority (“ESMA”) published an amended version of its guidelines on…

On January 7, 2026, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) proposed updates to the definition of “small entity” for purposes of the Regulatory Flexibility Act (the “RFA”). Although the proposed changes, if adopted, would not directly affect the regulatory burden of any entity, over the long term, they could have a substantial impact on…

Overview

On December 19, 2025, the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (the “CFTC”) issued a no‑action letter (the “No‑Action Letter”) that permits many private fund managers registered with the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) to forgo registering with the CFTC as commodity pool operators (“CPOs”) and commodity trading advisors (“CTAs”) or to withdraw existing CPO/CTA…

On December 2, 2025, Brian Daly, Director of the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) Division of Investment Management (the “Division”), delivered remarks to the American Bar Association outlining the Division’s top priorities under his leadership: deregulation, modernization, democratization, and artificial intelligence (“AI”).

Daly noted that the Division’s agenda will largely be driven by the…

On December 3, 2025, the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC”) issued an exemptive order to postpone the compliance deadline for Rule 13f-2 under the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 by two years.  The new deadline for compliance is January 2, 2028. Rule 13f-2 was adopted in October 2023 and compliance had already been extended…