C. Robert Bruner
Biography
Robert Bruner is the Section Chair of the Investment Management Practice Group and is based out of the firm's Dallas office. Robert’s practice focuses primarily on private equity, real estate, and hedge fund formation, including their management-level entities and their various compliance and governance obligations, as well as these investment funds and other institutional investors in their underlying investments, including co-investments and underlying fund investments. Robert regularly advises investment funds, investment advisors, and commodity pool operators and traders with regards to the formation, organization, and operation of the investment advisers, their funds, their investments, and their compliance with applicable U.S. federal and state laws.
Robert represents clients across a broad range of industries in various corporate and securities matters, including the preparation of securities filings with the SEC, such as Schedule 13D, Schedule 13G, Form 13F, Form N-PX, Forms 3, 4, and 5, Form PF, and Form ADV. Robert also has substantial experience with insurance dedicated funds, including launching these specialized investment products, and negotiating with the insurance carriers that invest in these vehicles.
Robert has experience in a variety of transactions including:
- Formation, structuring and operation of insurance dedicated funds (IDF), including relating to insurance dedicated fund of private equity funds hybrid structures and insurance dedicated fund of hedge fund structures, each of which customarily involves thorough negotiations with IDF counterparties.
- Formation, organization and operation of hedge funds, private equity funds, commodity pools, other private investment funds, investment advisers, commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors.
- The formation of multiple master/feeder and mini/master feeder hedge fund structures with a wide range of investment strategies.
- Registration of investment advisers with the SEC, the Texas State Securities Board and the Arkansas Securities Commission.
- Compliance with federal and state laws applicable to private investment funds, commodity pools and investment advisers.
- Registration of commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors with the CFTC and NFA.
- Representing numerous institutions, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and family offices in their investments into hedge funds, private equity, real estate and venture capital funds and fund of funds.
- The formation of an open-ended real estate fund with taxable and tax-exempt investors.
- Structuring and forming business entities, including corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies.
- Assisting clients in general corporate matters.
- Assisting clients in buy-outs, recapitalizations and restructurings.
- Representing clients in private placements of securities.
- Representing numerous institutions and family offices in their investments into hedge funds, private equity and venture capital funds and fund of funds.
- Representing numerous institutional investors and family offices in structuring and negotiating separately managed accounts.
- Advising private equity and hedge funds in their compliance with securities laws.
Robert Bruner is the Section Chair of the Investment Management Practice Group and is based out of the firm's Dallas office. Robert’s practice focuses primarily on private equity, real estate, and hedge fund formation, including their management-level entities and their various compliance and governance obligations, as well as these investment funds and other institutional investors in their underlying investments, including co-investments and underlying fund investments. Robert regularly advises investment funds, investment advisors, and commodity pool operators and traders with regards to the formation, organization, and operation of the investment advisers, their funds, their investments, and their compliance with applicable U.S. federal and state laws.
Robert represents clients across a broad range of industries in various corporate and securities matters, including the preparation of securities filings with the SEC, such as Schedule 13D, Schedule 13G, Form 13F, Form N-PX, Forms 3, 4, and 5, Form PF, and Form ADV. Robert also has substantial experience with insurance dedicated funds, including launching these specialized investment products, and negotiating with the insurance carriers that invest in these vehicles.
Robert has experience in a variety of transactions including:
- Formation, structuring and operation of insurance dedicated funds (IDF), including relating to insurance dedicated fund of private equity funds hybrid structures and insurance dedicated fund of hedge fund structures, each of which customarily involves thorough negotiations with IDF counterparties.
- Formation, organization and operation of hedge funds, private equity funds, commodity pools, other private investment funds, investment advisers, commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors.
- The formation of multiple master/feeder and mini/master feeder hedge fund structures with a wide range of investment strategies.
- Registration of investment advisers with the SEC, the Texas State Securities Board and the Arkansas Securities Commission.
- Compliance with federal and state laws applicable to private investment funds, commodity pools and investment advisers.
- Registration of commodity pool operators and commodity trading advisors with the CFTC and NFA.
- Representing numerous institutions, sovereign wealth funds, pension funds and family offices in their investments into hedge funds, private equity, real estate and venture capital funds and fund of funds.
- The formation of an open-ended real estate fund with taxable and tax-exempt investors.
- Structuring and forming business entities, including corporations, partnerships and limited liability companies.
- Assisting clients in general corporate matters.
- Assisting clients in buy-outs, recapitalizations and restructurings.
- Representing clients in private placements of securities.
- Representing numerous institutions and family offices in their investments into hedge funds, private equity and venture capital funds and fund of funds.
- Representing numerous institutional investors and family offices in structuring and negotiating separately managed accounts.
- Advising private equity and hedge funds in their compliance with securities laws.
- Represented Juniper Capital Management in a simultaneous investment and roll-up of two industry-leading sewer rehabilitation companies.
- Represented an investment management client in the sale of its private equity fund administrator division, which provides back office services to various third party and affiliated private equity funds, to a major international conglomerate.
- Represented an investment management client in the acquisition, through an asset purchase agreement, of the management rights to more than 40 non-registered and 40-Act-registered private equity fund-of-funds and certain related assets and employees from the alternative asset management business of a major international bank.
- Represented Wingate Partners V, L.P. in its $110 million acquisition of the lawn and garden division of Myers Industries, Inc., an international manufacturer of polymer products for the industrial, agricultural, automotive, commercial, and consumer markets.
- Represented Wingate Partners in its acquisition of MPI Products Holdings, a Michigan-based company that designs and manufactures fineblanking based components and assemblies.
- State Bar of Texas
- Capital for Kids
- Recognized by Texas Super Lawyers Rising Stars, Thomson Reuters, 2021-2023
- Included in the "Ones to Watch" category of The Best Lawyers in America, Woodward/White, Inc., 2023-2025
Education
J.D., Wake Forest University School of Law, 2013
B.A., Furman University, 2010
Clerkships
Intern to the Honorable Judge James A. Wynn, United States Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit, Raleigh, NC, July 2012 - August 2012
Intern to the Honorable Judge Douglas Lang for the 5th District Court of Appeals, Dallas, TX, May 2011-July 2011
Intern to the Honorable Judge Reed O'Conner, Federal District Court for the Northern District of Texas, Dallas, TX, July 2011-August 2011
Admissions
Texas
Corporate Transparency Act – Implications for Investment Advisers and their Fund Structures
January 16, 2024