Akin Gump’s Private Investment Funds Conference Featured in The Hedge Fund Law Report

Akin Gump’s annual private investment funds conference was the subject of another article in The Hedge Fund Law Report. The publication, in its December 19 issue, covered three separate panels from the conference. The topics included, among others:

• Annual Tax Update. Stuart Leblang, co-head of Akin Gump’s tax practice, noted that there continues to be consensus in Congress for fundamental tax reform that would lower individual and corporate tax rates, eliminate many deductions and tax preferences, reform entitlements and generally simplify the tax code.
• Recent Trends in Fund Manager Transactions. Stephen Vine, head of the firm’s investment management practice, discussed a “resurgence” in the market for equity stakes in asset managers. Corporate partner Trey Muldrow attributed this, in part, to a reported $116 billion in unrealized assets held by private equity funds through stakes in more than 2000 firms. Tax partner Stephen Jordan reminded the audience that any bonus or ownership interest received by non-owner employees as a result of a sale must be treated as ordinary income.
• The Current Environment for Hedge Fund and Private Equity Terms: Economics, Governance and Transparence. Investment management partner Blayne Grady noted that private equity fundraising has been improving, especially for real estate funds, with some managers choosing to manage smaller funds, rather than grant concessions on fees and other terms to attract more capital. Burke McDavid, also a partner in the investment management practice, said equity long-short hedge funds are still the most popular among investors and that funds of funds continue to decline in popularity.

Other topics covered at this year’s conference included fundraising in the new regulatory environment, current trends in insider trading enforcement (click here for more), and distressed debt and credit investing.