K&L Gates Expands Asset Management and Investment Funds Practice with Chicago Partner Addition

Chicago – Global law firm K&L Gates LLP welcomes Kevin Gustafson as a partner in the Asset Management and Investment Funds (AMIF) practice area. He joins the firm’s Chicago office closely following the arrival of ETF partner Hazel Doyle in Dublin last month.
 
Gustafson brings more than three decades of experience in the financial and legal industries, including work in the areas of global asset management and distribution, with a particular focus on exchange-traded products (ETPs). Throughout his career, Gustafson has been instrumental in the development, listing, and support of more than 250 ETPs across multiple global jurisdictions, guiding companies on regulatory issues and rule changes related to investment management, fund structure and formation, governance, exchange listing and trading, market distribution, and advisory registration and compliance matters applicable to both US and non-US domiciled firms.
 
Michael Caccese, K&L Gates chairman and a leader of the firm’s AMIF practice area, stated: “Kevin brings an incredibly well-seasoned and innovative talent to K&L Gates’ AMIF practice. He has been a driving force behind significant growth and innovation in the exchange-traded product space, one of the fastest-growing areas of the global funds industry. Kevin’s addition to the team continues our significant expansion in the ETF area, adding to our rapidly growing ETF practice in the United States, Ireland, United Kingdom, and Australia.”

Going back to the early generation of ETFs in 2004, Gustafson was the general counsel and chief compliance officer of the PowerShares ETFs, the first smart beta ETFs in the US, which later became the Invesco global suite of ETFs. He most recently served as general counsel and chief compliance officer at Innovator ETFs, sponsor of the industry’s first Defined Outcome ETF and Buffer ETF. While there, Gustafson helped the company launch more than 80 ETFs, including the first ETFs approved by the Securities and Exchange Commission under Rules 18f-4 and 6c-11.

Previously, Gustafson served as head of legal and chief risk and compliance officer, Americas, for Prudential plc’s Eastspring Investments asset management division, where he was responsible for the design and oversight framework for Prudential’s Asia-based, non-US asset managers managing accounts and 40 Act products in the US. He was also involved in the distribution of its Undertakings for Collective Investment in Transferable Securities (UCITs) and other managed financial products across the Americas.

Michael Martinez, managing partner of K&L Gates’ Chicago office, commented: “We are very excited to add Kevin’s industry-leading ETF experience to our world-class AMIF group. Kevin’s arrival is another significant addition to K&L Gates and our Chicago office.”

K&L Gates’ AMIF practice has more than 50 years of experience in the financial services industry and comprises more than 150 lawyers throughout Asia, Australia, Europe, the Middle East, and North America. These lawyers provide advice to investment companies and advisers, broker-dealers, emerging managers, and institutional investors across a range of areas, including on investment, hedge, private equity, and real estate funds, regulated funds and exchange-traded products, capital markets and derivatives, ERISA, ESG, and global regulation and distribution, among others.

Gustafson is one of numerous partner additions to K&L Gates’ global AMIF practice in recent months, which also include lawyers in Dublin, Boston, London, New York, Chicago, and Sydney.