• Robert B. Weiss advises on the formation, marketing and closing of investment funds, including private equity, debt, venture capital, real estate and hedge funds, funds-of-one, and separately managed accounts. Rob counsels a variety of investors in investments in private funds, and advises venture capital funds and strategic corporate investors in venture investments. Rob also assists emerging and existing managers on the structuring of their “house” arrangements.

    Rob’s clients range from leading international sponsors managing billions of dollars to new and emerging sponsors launching their first funds. He has advised on the formation of a number of innovative fund structures, including the formation and launch of the first open-end fund formed to invest in the Nasdaq cryptocurrency index and associated exchange-traded product.

    Rob previously led business development for two New York-based tech companies, including an industry leader in immersive virtual reality and a data-driven internet real estate listing service for rental homes and apartments. He served as in-house counsel for a Philadelphia-area, privately held, global financial services company specializing in alternative assets for institutional investors. Rob has also worked in the corporate, asset management and investment funds practices of several global law firms.

    Experience

    • Advised a leading U.S. student loan servicer in the formation and launch of its first investment fund, an evergreen credit fund that invests in U.S. consumer loan portfolios.

    • Advised on the formation of three separate funds designed to invest in distressed credit through the federal Term Asset-Backed Securities Loan Facility (TALF), with aggregate assets under management of more than $1.5 billion.

    • Represented a global collateralized loan operations (CLO) manager in the formation of a new evergreen private credit fund.

    • Represented a prominent global asset manager in the formation of multiple private funds and separately managed accounts investing in a variety of credit and credit-related products, including CLO debt and equity, asset-backed securities, bank loans and other corporate credits.

    • Advised an emerging manager in the formation and launch of a fund focusing on private equity acquisitions of minority-owned businesses and the transfer of ownership to ESOPs.

    • Represented an emerging manager in the formation and launch of a nonconcessionary credit fund focused on direct lending to minority-owned businesses and businesses located in underserved communities.

    • Represented a prominent global asset manager in the formation, marketing and closing of a private fund designed to invest in, among other assets, commercial real estate debt originated through a REIT subsidiary and interests in other private real estate funds, with aggregate assets under management of funds and structures formed exceeding $1 billion.

    • Advised offshore pension fund and other institutional investors in investments in, and in connection with the subsequent restructuring of, a market-leading commercial real estate REIT.

    • Advised an emerging asset manager in the formation of a new fund investing in intellectual property portfolios.

    • Represented a multibillion-dollar offshore family office in the termination of a long-standing relationship with a U.S. investment manager and the unwinding of five separate private equity and venture capital funds in which the family office was the sole investor.

    • Represented an emerging manager in the formation and launch of a fund focusing on acquisitions of underperforming venture capital fund portfolio companies at attractive valuations for turnaround and eventual sale to strategic acquirers or for initial public offering.

    • Advised an emerging manager in the formation and launch of its first venture capital fund targeting New York-based startups and digital asset investments.

    • Represented an Asian conglomerate in the establishment of its captive U.S. venture capital investment arm and the formation of, and investment in, new venture funds, including a seeding arrangement with an emerging manager in the alternative energy space.

    • Represented an emerging venture capital fund manager in the formation of its second fund targeting $20 million for investments in a broad range of U.S.- and Israeli-backed SAAS startups.

    • Advised governmental investors and sovereign wealth funds in negotiations for limited partner investments in leading private equity and debt funds of between $50 million and $500 million.

    • Represented the asset management arm of a U.S.-based insurance company in the formation and launch of multiple insurance-dedicated fund structures investing in a variety of equity, debt and alternative assets.

    • Represented the sponsor in the formation of multiple private capital vehicles through which third-party investors invest in Lloyd’s of London syndicates.

    • Represented a leading U.S.-based asset manager in the formation and launch of the first-of-its-kind open-end fund formed to invest in the Nasdaq cryptocurrency index and associated exchange-traded product.

    Credentials

    Education

    • J.D., University of Virginia School of Law, 2006
      • Executive Editor, Virginia Tax Review
    • A.B., cum laude, Politics, Princeton University, 1999
      • Lyman H. Atwater Prize in Politics for Outstanding Thesis

    Bar Admissions

    • New York, 2007