Katherine Waite
Partner
A partner in Ropes & Gray’s asset management group, Katie Waite leads investment advisers, credit funds, hedge funds, private equity funds, venture capital funds, family offices and institutional investors through a broad range of fund formation, transactional and regulatory matters. Katie represents clients in connection with GP recapitalizations, structured secondary transactions, preferred equity transactions and seed investments. She also advises sovereign and institutional investors on co-investments, secondary investments and other investment activities.
Katie’s broad practice encompasses both sponsor and investor representation across fund launches, transactional and regulatory matters, giving her unique insight into all aspects of an asset manager’s business. She works to find practical, commercial solutions for clients, leveraging the firm’s global platform to provide real-time advice regarding market developments in a dynamic industry.
Experience
- Represents fund sponsors and investors in GP recapitalizations and structured secondary transactions.
- Advises various European, Asian and Canadian sovereign investors and other institutional investors in connection with co-investments and secondary investments.
- Represents established seed fund platforms in negotiating revenue sharing arrangements with third party hedge fund and private equity fund managers.
- Advises start-up hedge fund sponsors on the structuring, launch and operation of domestic and offshore private funds.
- Represents established hedge fund and private equity fund sponsors in connection with the structuring and formation of new investment funds.
- Advises family office client with respect to on-going trading operations and compliance issues.
- Advises investment advisers with respect to the on-going maintenance of private funds and compliance-related issues.
- Represents large institutional investor regarding primary investments in third party hedge funds and private equity funds.
Publications
- Quoted, “Keeping Up With The Evolving PE Secondaries Market,” Law360 (August 30, 2021)
- Quoted, “Blackstone Snags $770M for Fund Jumping on Continuation Deals,” FundFire Alts (July 28, 2021)
Education
- JD, Vanderbilt University Law School, 2010; Associate Editor, Vanderbilt Law Review
- BA, magna cum laude, Boston College, 2005
Admissions / Qualifications
Qualifications
- Massachusetts, 2010
Awards
- Legal 500 (2021-2023)