K&L Gates Program Warns of Public Disclosure Risks Associated With Accepting State Public Pensions As Investors and Advises on How to Mitigate Them (Part Two of Two)

Many private fund advisers perceive the investments from public pension plans as highly desirable, particularly in a difficult fundraising environment. See “How Emerging Hedge Fund Managers Can Raise Capital in a Challenging Market Without Overstepping Legal Bounds” (Aug. 4, 2016). While the benefits are plentiful, it is important for fund managers to be mindful of federal, state and local regulations surrounding these arrangements. Failure to do so could lead to potential violations of statutory “pay to play” rules, as well as the inadvertent disclosure of proprietary fund information under public record requests and freedom of information (FOI) laws. To apprise fund managers of these issues and help them prepare accordingly, K&L Gates presented a recent program featuring insights from Eric J. Smith, managing director and deputy general counsel at PineBridge Investments, as well as Cary J. Meer and Ruth E. Delaney, partner and associate, respectively, at K&L Gates. This second article in a two-part series covers FOI laws pursuant to which funds could face disclosure issues, as well as ways to protect that information. The first article detailed federal and state pay to play regulations, including restrictions on political contributions and gifts and entertainment. For more on how fund managers can comply with pay to play restrictions, see “The SEC’s Pay to Play Rule Is Here to Stay: Tips for Hedge Fund Managers to Avoid Liability” (Oct. 8, 2015); “Four Pay to Play Traps for Hedge Fund Managers, and How to Avoid Them” (Feb. 5, 2015); and “How Can Hedge Fund Managers Participate in the Political Process Without Violating Pay to Play Regulations at the Federal, State, Municipal or Fund Level?” (Oct. 6, 2011).

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