On February 4, 2009, global law firm Ropes & Gray LLP hosted a teleconference titled “The Sinking Markets’ Effect on Investment Funds: Litigation and Enforcement Issues Every Investment Fund Executive Should Know.”  The teleconference consisted of four presentations, each by one Ropes partner addressing an overarching question.  Those questions were as follows: (1) Under what theories is the SEC likely to bring claims against unsuccessful and “imprudent” managers?; (2) What impact is the alleged Madoff Ponzi scheme likely to have on future enforcement actions?; (3) What lessons may be learned from the problems at the Reserve Fund, a money-market mutual fund whose value tumbled and “broke the buck,” because of its over-reliance upon commercial paper issued by a Lehman Brothers entity?; and (4) More generally, what is the scope of private liability risk facing funds that have suffered substantial losses, and their managers?  We relate the material points from the various Ropes partners’ answers to these questions.