Yana Guss is counsel in the asset management group. Yana’s practice focuses on representing registered investment companies, their independent trustees, and investment advisers in regulatory, transactional, and compliance matters. She has experience with the creation, registration, operation and reorganization of open-end funds, closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds, compliance and enforcement matters for investment advisers and registered funds, and the regular ongoing representation of registered investment companies’ boards of trustees. Yana regularly works with clients to respond to new SEC rules affecting the investment management industry. She also assists clients experiencing or anticipating compliance, examination, enforcement or other issues with the SEC and other regulatory agencies.
In addition to her asset management practice, Yana regularly contributes to the firm’s pro bono efforts. She also plays an active role in mentoring associates and guiding their professional development.
Experience
- Represents the Independent Trustees of the MFS Funds and the MFS Funds in a wide variety of matters, including the development of new products, fund reorganizations, compliance matters, exemptive applications, investment activities, and service provider arrangements.
- Serves as counsel to an investment adviser, which operates in a manager-of-managers structure, and its complex of open-end funds with regard to a wide variety of matters, including the development of new products, fund reorganizations, compliance matters, investment activities, and subadvisory and other service provider arrangements.
- Represents several closed-end funds in connection with their day-to-day operations, creating and implementing antitakeover strategies, and responding to shareholder activists.
- Represents the Independent Trustees of the Putnam Funds and the Putnam Funds in a wide variety of matters, including the development of new products, fund reorganizations, compliance matters, investment activities, and service provider arrangements.
- Represented an investment adviser and several open-end funds in connection with the conversion of the open-end funds into exchange-traded funds.
- Counseled an investment adviser regarding the spin-out of its advisory business into a wholly-owned subsidiary, including the registration of the subsidiary with the SEC and development of a compliance program for the subsidiary.
- Advised a closed-end fund in connection with a tender offer, stock repurchase program, stock split and stock dividend.
- Advised closed-end funds and business development companies with respect to exemptive applications.
- Assisted private fund advisers in developing Advisers Act compliance programs.