Henry Bregstein is the global co-chair of the firm’s Financial Services practice and a member of the firm’s Executive Committee and Board of Directors. In his role as partner in the Financial Services practice, he advises alternative investment managers, hedge funds, private equity funds, liquid-alternative funds, family offices, sovereign wealth funds and investment advisers, as well as banks, broker-dealers, life and other insurance companies, in multiple jurisdictions on regulatory, securities, commodities, tax, finance, licensing, corporate and other legal matters.
Henry provides guidance on fund formation and regulatory compliance and advice related to all types of alternative investment funds and accounts, including hedge funds, private equity funds, mutual funds, exchange-traded funds (ETFs), insurance-dedicated funds (including bank-owned, insurance company-owned and corporate-owned life insurance (BOLI, IOLI, COLI)), tax deferred funds, funds of funds and managed account platforms.
In this capacity, he counsels clients on the structure and documentation of alternative investment derivative and other over-the-counter derivative products, as well as hedge fund lending transactions, subscription finance, prime broker leverage and various insurance-related products. Henry regularly assists his clients with regulatory matters, such as responding to Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) requests and advising on the effects of the Dodd-Frank Act.
Henry’s evolving practice also includes regulatory enforcement and litigation matters. He represents market participants in regulatory investigations and counsels clients on a variety of compliance concerns. He represents clients and their associated persons before the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) and other regulators and self-regulatory organizations in investigations and enforcement proceedings.
He provides organizational and investment counsel to investment advisers, introducers and broker-dealers relating to due diligence, risk assessment and controls, fee arrangements, structured and other types of agreements, strategic investments and structuring joint ventures. Henry also advises on matters concerning the transfer, utilization and licensing of intellectual property by broker-dealers and investment advisers. In his private equity transactions, securities and general corporate practices, he focuses on private offerings of debt and equity, joint venture agreements, commercial lending and acquisitions of subsidiaries, structuring of private equity transactions and investments for operating companies.
Henry is frequently mentioned in the media and lauded by clients and colleagues alike for his work representing fund clients. He has been recognized by a number of hedge fund and investment industry rankings and publications, including the 2014 edition of Chambers USA, which describes him as “one of the smartest lawyers in the business.” Henry was also recognized by The Legal 500 as a Leading Individual for Investment Funds and by Chambers Global 2013, where clients commented that he is “admired for his strong grasp of issues surrounding domestic and offshore securities and commodities hedge funds.”
Largely considered an innovator in his field, Henry holds two patents and has one patent application pending. He was granted a patent for a multi-level leverage account structure, allowing multiple classes of investors with differing leverage objectives to establish an investment structure that takes advantage of both the master-feeder structure and the reverse master feeder structure with segregated accounts in the same master fund. Henry's pending patent application involves a tax-deferred fund in which investors can obtain exposure to variable annuities and life insurance policies in a hedge fund structure with income tax deferment or elimination.
