DLA Piper has expanded its Investment Funds practice with the addition of Ari Feder in New York, strengthening the firm’s capabilities at the intersection of private funds, transactional tax and cross-border investment structuring. Feder brings nearly two decades of tax experience focused on private equity and alternative investment funds.
He advises private equity sponsors, alternative investment managers and institutional investors on a broad range of matters involving fund formation, investment structuring, mergers and acquisitions, partnership taxation and cross-border transactions.
His experience spans private equity funds, hedge funds, real estate joint ventures and other alternative investment vehicles, giving DLA Piper additional tax expertise across several of the largest segments of the private capital market.
The addition is intended to strengthen DLA Piper’s ability to provide integrated advice to fund managers and investors as private investment structures become increasingly complex.
Fund sponsors frequently need to consider tax issues alongside regulatory, corporate, financing and investment-management requirements when establishing new vehicles or completing transactions.
Feder’s background allows DLA Piper to bring tax planning more directly into those discussions.
Private equity fund formation, for example, can involve complex decisions around the structure of investment vehicles, management entities, carried interest arrangements and the tax treatment of different categories of investors.
Institutional limited partners can also have significantly different tax considerations depending on their jurisdiction, organizational structure and investment objectives.
Those issues become more complicated when a fund invests across multiple countries.
Cross-border private investments can require sponsors and investors to evaluate withholding taxes, treaty structures, local tax rules and the treatment of investment proceeds across different jurisdictions.
Feder’s international tax experience adds to DLA Piper’s ability to coordinate those considerations with the firm’s broader global legal platform.
His experience in mergers and acquisitions is another important component of the appointment.
Private equity sponsors routinely need tax advice not only when funds are created but also when portfolio companies are acquired, restructured or sold.
Transaction structures can materially affect after-tax returns for both funds and their investors.
Integrating tax planning with M&A advice can therefore be important throughout the investment cycle.
Feder also brings experience with partnership taxation, an area that is particularly relevant to private funds because many investment vehicles and management structures are organized as partnerships or similar pass-through entities.
The tax treatment of allocations, distributions and investment gains can influence how funds are structured and how returns are ultimately delivered to investors.
Real estate joint ventures add another layer of complexity.
These arrangements can involve multiple investment partners, different classes of capital and customized economic arrangements.
Tax considerations can play an important role in determining how those ventures are structured and how profits, losses and distributions are allocated among participants.
Feder’s experience across real estate and other alternative investment vehicles broadens the range of structures DLA Piper can advise on within its Investment Funds practice.
The appointment comes as private capital managers continue expanding across strategies, geographies and investor types.
Many alternative asset managers now operate businesses spanning private equity, private credit, real estate, infrastructure and other investment categories.
As platforms become larger and more diversified, legal and tax considerations increasingly extend across the full organization rather than being limited to individual fund launches.
Institutional investors are also seeking more customized investment structures.
Separately managed accounts, co-investments, continuation vehicles, joint ventures and other structures can require legal and tax advice tailored to specific investor requirements.
Adding a senior tax lawyer with experience advising both managers and institutional investors gives DLA Piper additional capabilities around those increasingly specialized transactions.
The move also strengthens the firm’s New York presence in one of the world’s largest centers for private capital and alternative asset management.
Many global private equity sponsors, institutional investors and financial institutions maintain substantial operations in New York, making the market an important hub for fund formation and investment transactions.
Feder’s addition gives DLA Piper another experienced practitioner who can work with those clients locally while drawing on the firm’s international network for cross-border matters.
DLA Piper’s global Investment Funds team advises sponsors, fund managers and institutional investors across major private investment strategies and throughout the full life cycle of investment funds.
That work can begin with the formation and structuring of a fund and continue through capital raising, investments, portfolio transactions, restructurings, secondary transactions and eventual exits or fund wind-downs.
Feder’s tax background adds another layer to that full-life-cycle approach.
By combining private funds advice with international tax, transactional and regulatory capabilities, DLA Piper is positioning the practice to address a broader range of issues through a single legal platform.
The addition of Feder therefore expands both the technical depth and geographic reach of the firm’s Investment Funds practice as private capital clients continue navigating increasingly complex fund structures, cross-border investments and transaction requirements.
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“Clients are looking for counsel who can connect technical tax insight with a practical understanding of how private funds are formed, invested, and managed across jurisdictions. Ari’s arrival reflects our continued commitment to serving clients across the evolving private funds landscape.”
Nicole Brennig, Co-Leader of DLA Piper’s Global Investment Funds Practice in the U.S.