The Capital Commitment

Proskauer on Private Fund Litigation

Portfolio Companies in Distress: Navigating the Risks from SVB and Other Threats to Liquidity and Solvency

Everything, everywhere, all at once is our risk thesis for 2023, but one must not forget about concentration risk.  This issue has rocketed up diligence agendas for LPs and GPs alike as the collapse of Silicon Valley Bank proved it really was the bank for venture capital.The entry of SVB into receivership on March 10, 2023 highlighted just how central it had become to U.S. venture capital, providing deposit and credit facilities not just to asset managers, but also to many (and in some cases the vast majority) of their portfolio companies and investors.  While deposit accounts were protected in full, companies unable to access those accounts for several days faced significant disruption.  Further, while borrowers were still bound by terms of credit agreements, there was no immediate obligation on the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation (FDIC) as receiver to honor drawdown requests (although the bridge bank did announce it would honor credit facilities). Net asset value (NAV) lines, subscription lines and investors’ own deposit and credit lines were also affected. The deposits and loans of SVB were acquired from FDIC by First Citizens Bank on March 27, 2023.

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Top Ten Regulatory and Litigation Risks for Private Funds in 2023

Everything, everywhere, all at once, as a descriptor, captures the litigation and regulatory risks for the asset management industry in 2023. Every corner of the market faces greater risks than at any time since 2008. After years of breakneck growth fueled by low interest rates and a largely laissez faire regulatory regime, significant change is here.

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Current Issues Relating to Silicon Valley Bank Closure

On Friday, March 10, 2023, Silicon Valley Bank (“SVB”) became the largest U.S. lender since the Great Financial Crisis to enter into receivership with the Federal Deposit Insurance Corporation. SVB was a major provider of depository services and liquidity to various investment funds, managers and their related entities through subscription or capital call facilities, net asset value facilities and management company, GP and co-invest lines. The SVB situation is continuing to evolve and we expect to see material developments in the coming days.

For more details on this current development, read the full client alert here.

SEC Examinations in 2023 to Focus on “Riskier Private Funds” and New Marketing Rule

On February 7, 2023, the Division of Examinations of the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission released its 2023 Examination Priorities (“Annual Priorities”). Released at the beginning of each calendar year, the priorities tend to repeat the previous year’s priorities, and consumers of these regulatory tea leaves need to search closely for clues as to what is new and meaningful. This year the Division helpfully identified certain “Notable New Significant Focus Areas,” which included two priorities affecting private funds.

For details on these two priority areas of focus as well as other annual priorities affecting private fund advisors, please read the full article here.

SBF Prosecution Raises Novel Issues for Asset Forfeiture and Victim Restitution

The crimes charged against SBF are simple — old-fashioned fraud through a Ponzi scheme.  His conviction seems inevitable. For the government, the challenging part of this case will be the forfeiture proceedings.  Under the Mandatory Victim Restitution Act (MVRA), federal prosecutors have an affirmative obligation to use their “best efforts” to see that crime victims are compensated. In an ideal world, forfeiture and restitution should work in tandem. Prosecutors should use the forfeiture laws to identify, seize, and forfeit assets so that they can be preserved and are available to compensate victims through restitution at the conclusion of a criminal case. 

Partner Seetha Ramachandran comments on the challenges facing the DOJ as it pursues asset recovery for victims following the collapse of FTX.

Read the full article on NYU’s Compliance and Enforcement blog.

2022 SEC Enforcement Results – Takeaways for Fund Managers

Yesterday the SEC’s Division of Enforcement announced its Enforcement Results for Fiscal Year 2022, and there are a few key takeaways for fund managers.

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In The Zone? When Directors of Portfolio Companies Have to Take Creditor Interests into Account

Representatives of asset managers often take up positions on the boards of portfolio companies. We have written posts before on some of the litigation and regulatory risks that can arise, both for the asset managers and the individuals including: Portfolio Company Risk: Plaintiffs Set Sights on Sponsors and Board Directors, The Trend of Increasing Disclosure Obligations for Private Funds Continues in 2022, SEC Proposes Advisers Act Reforms Focusing on Private Fund Investor Protections.

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Keeping Up With Kim Kardashian’s SEC Charges

The SEC spread its reach to Hollywood this month – on October 3, 2022, the SEC announced charges against Kim Kardashian for her social media promotions of EMAX, a digital token issued by EthereumMax. The SEC found that Kardashian violated the anti-touting provision of the federal securities laws by failing to disclose the $250,000 payment she received for the ad.

Read the full post on the Corporate Defense and Disputes blog.

SEC Proposes ESG Reporting and Disclosure Requirements for Private Fund Advisers

On May 25, the Securities and Exchange Commission issued proposed rules under the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 for advisers to private funds that consider environmental, social or governance factors (“ESG”) as part of one or more significant investment strategies. The proposed rules would require advisers employing ESG strategies to report additional information about those strategies to the SEC and provide additional, more detailed disclosure to clients.

For details on who these new rules would apply to and how, read the full client alert here.

Portfolio Company Risk: Plaintiffs Set Sights on Sponsors and Board Directors

As our other Top Ten posts have demonstrated, there is no shortage of risks for private fund sponsors to navigate in today’s economic and regulatory environment. Nevertheless, they need to prioritize the risk that hits closest to home – lawsuits by private litigants seeking to pull sponsors, their funds, and their board director designees into litigation. These suits most frequently arise out of portfolio companies and most notably sale, business combination, or other liquidity or change of control events at a fund’s portfolio company. We have seen a considerable uptick in these types of lawsuits over the last several years, and we expect the trend to continue – and likely accelerate.      Continue Reading

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