John S. Marten, a Shareholder in the Chicago office of Vedder Price, has substantial experience representing clients in the investment management industry.
As a member of the firm’s Investment Services group, Mr. Marten counsels clients on a wide variety of matters involving the application of the federal securities laws to investment companies, investment advisers and broker-dealers. He has significant experience counseling investment company clients with respect to new products and was recently involved in the creation of two mutual funds employing alternative investment strategies. Mr. Marten provides practical legal and business advice to investment company directors to assist them in fulfilling their fiduciary duties as directors, including extensive experience counseling directors with respect to Section 15(c) contract renewal matters.
Mr. Marten has represented clients on a broad range of matters, including:
- Advising fund independent directors on fiduciary duties and conflicts of interest and other governance matters and counseling fund clients on all aspects of board administration and meeting preparation
- Advising investment companies and investment advisers on all aspects of ongoing compliance matters, including drafting and reviewing compliance policies and procedures and assisting clients in annual compliance reviews
- Handling all aspects of the formation of funds, including corporate formation, SEC registration and initial securities issuance
- Representing mutual fund clients in structuring complex alternative fund products, including negotiating derivative contracts
- Leading a series of fund reorganizations to streamline legal entities within a client's mutual fund complex
- Assisting a client in obtaining exemptive relief from the SEC to operate under an affiliated manager of managers structure
- Counseling clients in connection with preparing for, and responding to, SEC examination requests
More Legal and Business Bylines From John S. Marten
- Proposed Tax Legislation Could Impact Exchange-Traded Funds - (Posted On Friday, October 15, 2021)
- IDC Requests Additional Relief with Respect to Fund Board In-Person Voting Requirements - (Posted On Friday, October 15, 2021)
- SEC Proposes Enhanced Proxy Voting Reporting Requirements for Funds and Managers - (Posted On Friday, October 15, 2021)
- SEC Chair Gary Gensler Provides Remarks on Crypto Assets at the Aspen Security Forum - (Posted On Thursday, September 09, 2021)
- Tenth Circuit Court of Appeals Affirms District Court’s Judgment for Great-West in Section 36(b) Excessive Fee Suit - (Posted On Thursday, September 09, 2021)
- SEC Office of the Investor Advocate Issues Annual Report on Objectives for 2022 Fiscal Year - (Posted On Wednesday, September 08, 2021)
- Citing “Greenwashing” Concerns, IOSCO Issues Recommendations to Securities Regulators on Sustainability-Related Practices, Policies and Disclosures - (Posted On Wednesday, September 08, 2021)
- Division of Examinations Risk Alert Identifies Common Deficient Practices with Wrap Fee Programs - (Posted On Wednesday, September 08, 2021)
- Division of Examinations Cautions Advisers on Compliance Deficiencies with Fixed Income and Principal Cross Trades - (Posted On Wednesday, September 08, 2021)
- President Biden Issues Executive Order Amending Prohibition on Securities Investments related to Chinese Military Companies - (Posted On Thursday, July 08, 2021)
Vedder Price's Investment Services group is recognized by the National Law Review as a Go-To Thought Leader for the group’s regular contributions on and analysis of SEC amendments and regulations, enforcement actions and proposed rulemaking. Topics addressed by Vedder’s Investment Services group related to the SEC include: enforcement proceeding settlements, the modernization of fund disclosure regime, amendments to proxy rules and the review process for exemptive applications. The following Vedder Price attorney authors were the most frequent contributors: John S. Marten, Nathaniel Segal and Jacob C. Tiedt.
The National Law Review recognizes Rachel Behar, Robert M. Crea, Joseph M. Mannon, John S. Marten, Nathaniel Segal, Jacob C. Tiedt, and Jeff VonDruska of Vedder Price as 2021 Go-To Thought leaders for their well-thought-out and timely updates on developments at the SEC. The SEC reporting team at Vedder Price covers a range of topics including fixed income trades, wrap fee program deficiencies, advisor fee calculations and breaks down the most critical issues, and provides readers actionable insights.