Hedge funds looking to market in Europe are faced with an increasingly complex regulatory environment – encompassing the Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD), the Markets in Financial Instruments Directive, as well as a panoply of local regulations.  Hedge fund general counsels (GCs) and chief compliance officers (CCOs) must adapt to these changes and ensure that their firms appropriately solicit and engage with investors.  On November 17, 2015, the Hedge Fund Law Report and Dechert LLP co-sponsored a program, “The Evolving Role of GCs and CCOs in Marketing and Investor Management in Europe,” which considered issues faced by GCs and CCOs relating to private placements, reverse solicitation, the E.U. marketing “passport,” regulatory changes, UCITS funds and investor relations.  Moderated by William V. de Cordova, Editor-in-Chief of the HFLR, the discussion featured Jeffrey Bronheim, GC of Cheyne Capital Management (UK) LLP; Philip Niel, GC and CCO of Egerton Capital (UK) LLP; and Dechert partners Karen L. Anderberg and Gus Black.  This article, the first in a two-part series, summarizes the key takeaways from the panel discussion with respect to marketing funds under the AIFMD and reverse solicitation.  The second article will address topics including the extension of the E.U. marketing passport, potential regulatory changes, marketing alternative mutual funds and investor relations.  For more from the panelists, see “What the Evolving European Marketing Environment Means for Hedge Fund GCs and CCOs,” Hedge Fund Law Report, Vol. 8, No. 44 (Nov. 12, 2015).