As a major user or provider of financial services, you need to keep abreast of changing service conditions and industry practice. We have put together a group of lawyers to help you meet these challenges. The group includes tax lawyers, banking lawyers, insurance, pension and corporate securities lawyers and litigators, as well as specialists in funds and portfolio management, financial services law and global custody and competition specialists from our dedicated office in Brussels.
A key focus of our financial services regulatory team is providing regulatory and structuring advice for authorised firms and start-ups. In addition, we provide transactional support including advising on the acquisition and disposal of major financial institutions both in the UK and in a cross-border context. This includes cross-border banking group acquisition, cross-border merger of asset management businesses, the development of substantial new products and services for international financial services groups, as well as the disposal of domestic banking operations and establishing joint ventures for the purposes of providing custody, asset management and banking services.
Importantly, our focus extends beyond the mergers and acquisitions and reorganisations of our clients and includes significant day-to-day support for their operations. We help them to design and formulate the terms on which they do business, the management reporting lines and internal procedures that they follow and to interpret best industry practice in accordance with their business model. We help clients through the labyrinth of regulations relating to taking on new customers, identification procedures, know your customer and other issues relating to anti-money laundering initiatives, suspicious transactions and market abuse, as well as keeping them abreast of the significant changes in regulation that are endemic in the industry.
In addition, not only does the group provide solutions in relation to our clients' new businesses, ongoing transactions and day-to-day relations with regulators but it also assists when things go wrong. We are experienced in conducting, and advising on, internal investigations in respect of regulatory issues. We also work regularly with our highly experienced US regulatory team on international regulatory investigations (understandably much of our work in these areas is confidential).
Our financial services regulatory practice also incorporates a funds practice. We have advised fund sponsors in connection with the structuring, marketing, regulation and operation of public and private open-ended investment funds in the UK and other jurisdictions, within Europe and "off-shore". These funds include authorised and unauthorised unit trusts, open-ended investment companies and limited partnerships with a wide-range of investment styles and objectives, including venture capital trusts. We also act for fund managers in relation to investments into funds and ongoing regulatory and compliance matters.
Our objectives are to work with our clients to create and develop new and innovative products and initiatives which meet the demands of an increasingly sophisticated and regulated market. We in the London team can provide advice and assistance to overseas clients of our other offices who wish to diversify or expand into the UK regulatory arena. Equally, we can provide a global service to our UK clients through our international network.
