Gerald Francese has an extensive corporate transactional and regulatory practice. Jerry focuses on the formation and representation of private investment funds including domestic and international venture, private equity and hedge funds. He also has extensive experience in financial services, corporate finance, and bank regulation. Jerry’s clients include some of the world’s largest financial services institutions, investment advisers and investment companies, public and private companies and investors.
He helps investment managers create investment products and platforms, including investment companies and separately managed accounts, and has structured and closed numerous seed and growth investments and platforms. His fund clients’ expertise include specialties in alternative energy, commodities, construction finance, crypto-currencies, distressed debt, education, emerging markets, energy, FinTech, food, healthcare, hospitality, logistics, real estate and new opportunity zone, and travel funds. Jerry advises global investors in alternative asset investment and structuring to achieve investment goals and minimize adverse tax consequences.
Jerry’s transactional practice includes mergers and acquisitions, both domestically and internationally, private placements, management buyouts, corporate finance, rights and exchange offers, asset transactions, and going-private transactions. His regulatory experience includes bank regulation for investing activities, equity aggregation compliance, investment adviser and investment company regulation, and alternative trading platform development and operation. Jerry enjoys working on cutting edge legal issues related to securities offerings and trading.
Gerald Francese has an extensive corporate transactional and regulatory practice. Jerry focuses on the formation and representation of private investment funds including domestic and international venture, private equity and hedge funds. He also has extensive experience in financial services, corporate finance, and bank regulation. Jerry’s clients include some of the world’s largest financial services institutions, investment advisers and investment companies, public and private companies and investors.
He helps investment managers create investment products and platforms, including investment companies and separately managed accounts, and has structured and closed numerous seed and growth investments and platforms. His fund clients’ expertise include specialties in alternative energy, commodities, construction finance, crypto-currencies, distressed debt, education, emerging markets, energy, FinTech, food, healthcare, hospitality, logistics, real estate and new opportunity zone, and travel funds. Jerry advises global investors in alternative asset investment and structuring to achieve investment goals and minimize adverse tax consequences.
Jerry’s transactional practice includes mergers and acquisitions, both domestically and internationally, private placements, management buyouts, corporate finance, rights and exchange offers, asset transactions, and going-private transactions. His regulatory experience includes bank regulation for investing activities, equity aggregation compliance, investment adviser and investment company regulation, and alternative trading platform development and operation. Jerry enjoys working on cutting edge legal issues related to securities offerings and trading.
Jerry previously served as in-house counsel and a compliance and risk executive at Bank of America. In that role, he assisted with several multibillion-dollar mergers and acquisitions, numerous business unit spin-offs and sales, investment adviser and investment company regulation, private equity and public securities acquisitions and dispositions, bank and insurance regulatory compliance, joint ventures and public offerings of debt and equity securities. In addition, he served as compliance executive to the bank’s businesses that managed tens of billions of dollars in investments and portfolios and as chief compliance officer to registered investment advisers. Jerry has overseen and managed teams responsible for legal and regulatory compliance of all aspects of investment management and investments domiciled in over 40 countries across the Americas, Europe and Asia Pacific. He advised on financial products, including custody, corporate governance and regulatory compliance.
Professional Affiliations and Recognitions
- Recognized by The Legal 500 United States for private equity
Community Leadership
- Chair, Board of Directors, Barrier Free Living Family of Companies
- Chair of the Board of Managers of Arts Institute International, a national university system