Unique by design

As one of very few practices that focus primarily on asset servicing providers, Greenberg Traurig’s Institutional Banking and Investment Services (IBIS) Group serves the expansive needs of institutional banks and investment servicing providers both in the United States and globally. We provide advice on the many aspects of investment matters, including investment vehicle formation, management, planning, transactional, tax, regulatory, and compliance matters, and utilize our deep experience in these areas to uniquely focus on asset servicing and operational support matters such as administration, accounting, custody, corporate and escrow trust services, structured finance trust services, leveraged finance support, government contract bidding and savings plans, transfer agency, outsourcing and related matters. We support our clients through the entirety of the investment lifecycle.

Our team

Our group understands the needs of our clients and their customers—funds, asset managers, and institutional investors—and brings to bear broad industry knowledge of the unique needs and concerns of the financial institutions that service them. Our team includes former in-house counsel to some of the nation’s largest financial institutions and represents clients throughout the Americas, Europe, and Asia. We are at the forefront of helping to shape industry trends to benefit clients in the investment servicing community.

Who we serve

Our clients include some of the most preeminent financial institutions that provide custody services, corporate and escrow trust services, structured finance trust services, fund accounting and administration services, transfer agency services, limited partner services, middle office services, compliance monitoring, performance measurement, investment analytics and reporting platform services, SaaS-based solutions, FX services, portfolio solutions (brokerage, currency management and transition management), securities finance (agency lending, alternative financing solutions and enhanced custody) and other financial services. We regularly advise banks and trust companies, family offices, funds, managers, managed account providers and platforms, state sponsors, private program managers and other providers involved with Section 529 college savings programs, Section 529A (ABLE) disability savings programs and other service providers to family offices and ultra-high net worth, institutional investors and others providing asset management or asset servicing services.

Related Practice Areas

Greenberg Traurig’s IBIS Group works in cooperation with colleagues across other practice areas and offices to provide seamless, efficient counsel in a quickly changing market and regulatory environment.

Capabilities

• Asset servicing including institutional trust, custody, transfer agency, fund administration, sub-accounting, sub-transfer agency, and global securities lending.
• Counseling on issues related to service offerings to family offices, such as business succession, charitable and legacy plans, custody and consolidated portfolio reporting, private banking services, and financial accounting and bookkeeping support.
• Advising, structuring, and assisting in the development and expansion of a global financial institution’s acquisition of a registered transfer agent and accounting business relating to their expansion into servicing registered fund products.
• Advising some of the world’s largest global custodians on regulatory, transactional, and outsourcing issues with global expansion in Latin America and the Caribbean including establishing both representative offices and operations hubs in these jurisdictions.
• Representing program managers and plan administrators in government procurement and contract negotiation for retirement and education savings products.
• Preparing international, federal, and state licenses, registrations, and reports for those supervised by regulators such as the SEC, FINRA, CFTC/NFA, and state securities authorities.
• Advising and structuring various leveraged finance facilities, including bank loans, fund-level financing transactions for various types of funds and their managers.
• Preparing for regulatory audits to identify compliance risks and advising clients on policies and procedures to address those risks.
• Drafting and negotiating agreements, including advisory agreements, prime brokerage/margin agreements, OTC derivatives, futures, and commodities contracts on the JOBS Act, the Dodd-Frank Act, and regulations thereunder.
• Advising on international securities regulations, including compliance and EU directives.
• Advising on the regulatory aspects and related civil litigation of capital raising, sale transactions, and sales and trading activities.
• Complex derivatives transactions, including debt facility hedging programs and currency administration.
• Supporting firms managing customized client portfolios consisting of internal and external managers, active and passive strategies, and alternative investments.
• Drafting and negotiating advisory agreements, limited partner agreements, subscription documents, shareholder and operating agreements, nondisclosure agreements, side letters and related investment materials.
• Reviewing product marketing materials, including client communications, disclosures, white papers, websites, and performance advertising, and supporting compliance with the SEC and other advertising requirements.
• Advising on business structure, governing entity documents, and policies and procedures to address compliance risks.
• Advising on a variety of wealth planning capabilities: sophisticated estate planning techniques, planning for wealth transfer, insurance and risk management, tax consulting and management, private asset advisory, family wealth stewardship, and philanthropic advisory.
• Assisting with the administration of highly customized trusts and estates, including trusts for which the client serves as trustee or co-trustee.
• Reviewing governing instruments for sophisticated trusts, drafting direction letters for complex business and trust asset transactions, and preparing other documentation in support of the trust termination process.
• Reviewing educational materials regarding the wealth planning process and vendor- and client-generated wealth planning reports with forecasting.