Keith MacLeod is a partner in the firm's asset management group. He advises investment advisers, fund sponsors, private equity firms, family offices, and institutional investors across the full range of complex transactional and regulatory matters in the financial services industry, including asset management M&A, GP-led transactions, strategic investments, and securities law.
Keith has extensive experience leading asset management mergers and acquisitions, regularly negotiating the sale of investment advisers, fund businesses, wealth management platforms, and GP stakes. He also advises sponsors on launching innovative registered products—including ETF formation and structuring, SMA and mutual fund-to-ETF conversions, interval and tender offer funds, and alternative retail vehicles—and on negotiating strategic partnerships between traditional and alternative asset managers to bring private markets strategies into 40 Act registered fund wrappers.
Experience
- Represented Capital Group in the negotiation of its strategic partnership with KKR and the design, registration and launch of all three of their current public-private investment solutions, including both public/private equity (Capital Group KKR U.S. Equity+) and public/private credit (Capital Group KKR Core Plus+ and Capital Group KKR Multi-Sector+) investment solutions.
- Advised State Street Investment Management on its strategic minority investment in, and strategic collaboration with, Coller Capital, one of the world’s largest dedicated private market secondaries managers.
- Represented T. Rowe Price in the design and launch of the T. Rowe Price Goldman Sachs Private Markets Fund.
- Advised NEOS Investments in its sale to Goldman Sachs Asset Management, expanding Goldman Sachs’ ETF and options-overlay capabilities.
- Advises strategic and private equity buyers and sellers in asset and wealth management M&A transactions, including:
- Advent International in its minority investment in Fisher Investments, one of the world’s leading wealth management firms.
- Bain Capital in its take-private acquisition of Envestnet for $4.5 billion.
- Bain Capital Tech Opportunities in its strategic growth investment in Innocap Investment Management, Inc., a Dedicated Managed Account platform for institutional investors.
- Commonwealth Financial Network, the largest independently owned wealth management firm in the country, in a definitive sales agreement to LPL Financial Holdings Inc.
- Engine No. 1 on the sale of its ETF business to TCW Group.
- Osaic in its acquisition of CW Advisors, a Boston-based registered investment advisor (RIA) managing $13.5 billion in fee-only client assets.
- TA Associates in its strategic partnership with The Forge Companies, a leading provider of financial services to personal injury law firms.
- Represented Eagle Capital Management, LLC in a $2 billion conversion of SMAs and private fund assets to seed the Eagle Capital Select Equity ETF.
- Advises leading fund sponsors in launching registered alternative retail funds, including through the negotiation of strategic partnerships between traditional asset managers and alternative investment firms seeking to bring private equity, private credit, and real assets strategies to retail investors.
- Advises several multi-billion dollar family offices on investment activities and commercial arrangements, including in various complex asset classes.
- Represents several sovereign wealth funds and multilateral organizations in negotiating investment and trading agreements and establishing joint ventures.
- Represented Engine No. 1 in the development and growth of what is now the TCW ETF Trust.
- Represented TCW Group in connection with the conversion of mutual funds into ETFs.
- Provides ongoing federal securities law advice to a global, U.K.-based asset manager.
- Represented PIMCO in the launch of the PIMCO Flexible Emerging Markets Income Fund interval fund.
- Advises multiple sponsors in the launch of actively managed ETFs.
- Represented Cohen & Steers Capital Management in the development and launch of its suite of ETFs, including Cohen & Steers Natural Resources Active ETF, Cohen & Steers Preferred and Income Opportunities Active ETF, and Cohen & Steers Real Estate Active ETF.
- Advises the DoubleLine Funds, including their open-end, closed-end, and exchange-traded funds and their board of trustees, with respect to a broad range of regulatory and compliance matters, including the creation of new products.