FFA Event

FFA US University 2.0

Name: FFA US University 2.0
Start: 2023-10-05T09:00:00Z
End: 2023-10-05T17:00:00Z
Location: Sidley Austin LLP

October 05, 2023

9:00 AM - 5:00 PM EDT

New York, NY

This intensive full-day training session will occur in-person in New York on October 5, 2023. The program is designed for mid-level bankers and lawyers transacting under U.S. law and will cover advanced issues in subscription facilities, NAV loan structures and issues, Collateralized Fund Obligations and the PE business model. A complimentary networking reception sponsored by KBRA will follow.

Cost is $575 USD per attendee.

Last updated 9/12/2023.

Shen Mei Bolton

Sidley Austin LLP

Closing Remarks

5:20 PM | 2023-10-05

Shen Mei Bolton

Managing Associate | Sidley Austin LLP

Shen Mei Bolton is a managing associate in the Global Finance practice in the firm's New York office.

Prior to joining Sidley, Shen Mei was a banking and finance associate at a global law firm's Singapore and Melbourne offices. While there, she focused her practice on cross-border fund financing, corporate finance, structured share backed facilitates, and syndicated financing with a focus on real estate finance.

Shen Mei has also spent time on secondment at a Japanese international bank and an Australian international bank.

*Not yet admitted to practice in New York.

Kiel Bowen

Mayer Brown LLP

Advanced Issues in Subscription Facilities

9:05 AM | 2023-10-05

Kiel Bowen

Partner | Co-Head of the Global Lending | Mayer Brown LLP

Kiel Bowen is a partner and Co-Head of the Global Lending practice at Mayer Brown. His practice focuses on representing lenders in fund finance transactions. Kiel has more than a decade of experience advising institutions on sophisticated cross-border fund-level financings, including bilateral and syndicated subscription credit facilities, net asset value credit facilities, hybrid facilities and management fee secured credit facilities. He is known throughout the fund finance market as a go-to source on structuring fund-level debt, investor documentation issues and the fund finance syndication market. Kiel is routinely called on to help clients develop and improve their fund finance platforms, processes and documentation. An industry-recognized thought leader, he is frequently invited to speak at industry events and regularly publishes insights on market developments.

Kiel is a cum laude graduate of Case Western Reserve University School of Law and holds a Bachelor of Arts from DePauw University.

Pratap Dasgupta

Macquarie Group

Chris Davis

Reed Smith LLP

Vicky Du

Standard Chartered

NAV Loan Structures, Issues, and Underwriting

9:55 AM | 2023-10-05

Vicky Du

Global Head, Fund Finance | Standard Chartered

Vicky Du is the Global Head, Fund Finance at Standard Chartered, managing a globally integrated team responsible for providing financial sponsors with fund level financing solutions.

Vicky has extensive knowledge and experience in Leveraged Finance, Structured Finance and Capital Markets. Prior to joining Standard Chartered, Vicky worked at Goldman Sachs and GE Capital. Vicky received an MBA from New York University Stern School of Business, and BS in Mathematics and Computer Science from University of Nebraska.

Vicky servers on the Advisory Committee for the Fund Finance Association, and Advisory Council for the Securities Industry and Financial Markets Association.

Leah Edelboim

Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Intercreditor Issues in Fund Finance

1:20 PM | 2023-10-05

Leah Edelboim

Partner | Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft LLP

Leah Edelboim is a Partner in Cadwalader’s fund finance practice where she advises banks and other financial institutions on syndicated, club, and bilateral subscription credit facilities as well as NAV, hybrid, and other fund finance transactions. She is an author and educator on fund finance, including as a regular contributor to Cadwalader’s weekly newsletter, Fund Finance Friday. Leah is also an active member of Women in Fund Finance. She received her B.A. from the Johns Hopkins University and her J.D. from the University of Miami School of Law. Before attending law school, Leah worked as a journalist and television producer.

Sarah Elliott

National Australia Bank Limited

Advanced Issues in Subscription Facilities

9:05 AM | 2023-10-05

Sarah Elliott

Head of Client Coverage | National Australia Bank Limited

Sarah Elliott is Head of Client Coverage for NAB North America, and leads the Financial Sponsors, Infrastructure, Renewables, Asset Finance, Insurance, Banks, and Corporates coverage teams. Sarah is a member of NAB’s North American Executive Leadership team and Risk Committee. In the Financial Sponsors space, Sarah and her team work with open and closed-end Funds across the fund finance spectrum including subscription finance, NAV and Hybrid facilities, as well as FX and interest rate hedging. With 17 years’ experience in the market, Sarah has been based in New York for over 5 years, and during this time has led Fund Finance deals for some of the largest global Sponsors. Before NAB, Sarah was a Finance Attorney at top tier Australian law firm King & Wood Mallesons working with Funds across Fund Finance, Real Estate, Leveraged and Project Finance and DCM. Sarah holds qualifications in law (University of Sydney) and a degree in liberal arts, as well as business, finance and accounting certifications.

Trevor Freeman

Axos Bank

Opening Minds with Diverse Teams

4:30 PM | 2023-10-05

Trevor Freeman

SVP, Managing Director-Head of Fund Finance | Axos Bank

Trevor Freeman is SVP, Managing Director of Fund Finance at Axos Bank where he has built a full-service Fund Finance business that offers comprehensive NAV, Hybrid, Subscription (to both diversified and single-investor vehicles), Management Company, and General Partner Capital Contribution financing solutions to Private Equity, Private Credit, and Venture Capital clients.

Prior to joining Axos Bank, Trevor Freeman was a founding member of Signature Bank’s Fund Banking Group. In that role, he helped launch the team and grew the portfolio from inception to over $55B at its peak. Trevor began his career in leveraged finance providing senior secured revolvers to private equity backed companies and soon held senior positions at both Silicon Valley Bank and Citibank in their Sponsor Finance/Fund Banking groups. He completed formal credit training at the outset of his career and earned a postgraduate Diploma in Credit Analysis from New York University.

Originally from the Bay Area, Trevor was recruited to play NCAA Division I water polo at Fordham University where he was a four-year starter, team Captain and graduated in fifth-place on the school’s single-season scoring list. Trevor resides in Manhattan with his wife and daughter. In his free time, he enjoys swimming on a local Masters team and attempts to restrain himself while watching his seven-year-old daughter’s swim practices and competitions.

Stephen Giacolone

Lloyds Bank Corporate Markets

Peter Giacone

KBRA

Key Factors and Trends in Fund Finance Credit Ratings

2:45 PM | 2023-10-05

Peter Giacone

Senior Managing Director | KBRA

Peter Giacone is a Senior Managing Director and Global Head of the Insurance Ratings team

at KBRA, where he performs credit and financial analysis for the company’s rating process. In

addition to insurance and financial guaranty, Peter also works closely with KBRA’s investment

fund and public finance analytical teams.

Prior to joining KBRA, Peter spent six years as chief financial officer at the Liquidation Bureau

within the New York State Department of Financial Services. Over the span of his 35-year

career in financial services, Peter has worked extensively in analytical roles involving risk

management, capital markets, and financial reporting at numerous companies including

Morgan Stanley, MetLife, and XL Capital.

Peter earned a B.S.B.A. in accounting from the Georgetown University McDonough School of

Business and an MBA in finance from the New York University Stern School of Business.

Sara Huang

Ardian

Jennifer Imler

SMBC

US Bank Sector

3:45 PM | 2023-10-05

Jennifer Imler

Managing Director | SMBC

Jennifer Imler is a Managing Director in FIG DCM for SMBC Nikko, where she advises banks on capital,

funding, and liquidity solutions.

Prior to SMBC Nikko, Jennifer was Head of Capital Markets Liquidity Management at Wells Fargo,

managing a team charged with funding the company’s institutional and retail broker-dealers while

considering the liquidity and capital implications of balance sheet deployment.

Previously, Jennifer was at the U.S. Treasury. As Head of Marketable Debt Issuance, she advised the

Under Secretary of Domestic Finance on optimal strategies for funding the federal government and

helped structure the U.S. Treasury’s floating rate note program, interacting with various market

participants. She also advised regulators on rulemaking related to Basel III standards, the Dodd-Frank

Act and 2a-7 reform.

Jennifer has held both trading and structuring roles on municipal derivatives and CMBS desks.

Deborah Low

Haynes Boone

Advanced Issues In Fund Structuring and Transaction Security

11:30 AM | 2023-10-05

Deborah Low

Partner | Haynes Boone

Deborah Low is a partner in the Finance Practice Group in the New York office of Haynes and Boone. Her background is in representing foreign and domestic institutional lenders in various forms of secured and unsecured finance transactions including subscription finance, syndicated lending, corporate finance, leveraged finance, commodities and energy finance and project finance. In connection with subscription-secured credit facilities, Deborah also regularly advises clients on additional leverage solutions for private equity funds including NAV and hybrid facilities, management fee lines, GP and employee coinvest lines and letters of credit.

Mike Mascia

EverBank

Welcome and Introduction

9:00 AM | 2023-10-05

Closing Remarks

5:20 PM | 2023-10-05

Mike Mascia

Head of Fund Finance | EverBank

Mike Mascia is the former Chair of Cadwalader, Wickersham & Taft’s Finance Group and was a member of the firm’s Management Committee. He had a globally recognized fund finance practice, having represented lenders in subscription credit facilities to real estate and private equity funds sponsored by many of the world’s preeminent fund sponsors. He has been lead counsel on numerous hybrid facilities, and is one of the few attorneys in the United States with experience in both subscription credit facilities and CLO’s. Mike represents lenders on leverage facilities to secondary funds and other credits looking primarily to fund assets or NAV for repayment. Mike is the founder of the annual Global Fund Finance Symposium and he is a founding member and the Secretary of the Funds Finance Association.

Gopal Narsimhamurthy

KBRA

Key Factors and Trends in Fund Finance Credit Ratings

2:45 PM | 2023-10-05

Gopal Narsimhamurthy

Managing Director, Global Head of Fund Ratings | KBRA

Gopal Narsimhamurthy is a Managing Director within the Funds Rating Group at KBRA. Gopal has been with KBRA since 2014 and has worked across a number of analytical areas including structured finance, public finance, and project finance.

From September 2017 to August 2019, he relocated to Dublin, Ireland, to provide analytical coverage for European structured finance transactions and support KBRA’s growth initiatives across the region. Previously, he was an associate analyst at Moody’s Investors Service, where he specialized in higher education and health care credit analysis.

Gopal holds a Bachelor of Arts in economics from Rutgers University and a Master of Public Administration with a concentration in finance from New York University.

Dave Philipp

Crestline Investors

NAV Loan Structures, Issues, and Underwriting

9:55 AM | 2023-10-05

Dave Philipp

Partner | Crestline Investors

Mr. Philipp joined Crestline in 2013 and is a Partner of the firm in the Fund Liquidity Solutions Group, a Senior Portfolio Manager of the Portfolio Financing Fund and a member of the ESG Committee. Mr. Philipp has more than 27 years of experience in investment banking and alternative investments. Prior to joining Crestline, Mr. Philipp co-founded and managed several family-owned investment and advisory firms with holdings and operations around the world. Earlier in his career, he spent 12 years at Merrill Lynch, Deutsche Bank and Credit Suisse focused on providing structured financing strategies for alternative investment managers. He is a CFA Charterholder and a member of the Security Analysts of San Francisco. He graduated Summa Cum Laude from the University of Colorado.

Matthew Posthuma

Ropes & Gray LLP

Advanced Issues In Fund Structuring and Transaction Security

11:30 AM | 2023-10-05

Matthew Posthuma

Partner | Ropes & Gray LLP

Matt Posthuma is a partner in Ropes & Gray’s asset management practice and serves as leader of the firm’s real estate funds team. Matt focuses on the formation of private investment funds. Matt forms strategic relationships with real estate companies, asset managers and financial institutions to create thoughtful solutions for their fundraising and investment needs.

Matt helps sponsors with open- and closed-end funds in a wide range of investment strategies, such as real estate (including core, value-add and opportunistic), private equity, infrastructure, credit, hedge and other alternative asset classes. He also works with clients on joint ventures, separate accounts, club deals and other investment transactions.

Matt is a graduate of the University of Michigan and Harvard Law School.

Joe Scott

KBRA

Key Factors and Trends in Fund Finance Credit Ratings

2:45 PM | 2023-10-05

Joe Scott

Senior Managing Director, Financial Institutions | KBRA

Joe Scott is a Senior Managing Director and leads the Financial Institutions Group at Kroll

Bond Rating Agency (KBRA). Joe joined KBRA in 2015 and has over 30 years of financial sector

experience, including ratings and research coverage of domestic and international banks,

broker-dealers, asset managers, business development companies, and other financial services

firms.

Prior to joining KBRA, Joe worked at Fitch Ratings, Thomson Financial BankWatch, CoreStates

Financial Corporation (now part of Wells Fargo), and Bank of Lancaster County.

Within the banking sector, Joe has covered a full range of banking institutions, from community

banks to major U.S. and international banks. In addition, Joe’s career experience includes

speaking at industry conferences and interacting with financial services executives,

institutional investors, risk managers, and the financial press.

Joe earned a B.S. degree from Penn State University.

Michael Spera

Goldman Sachs Asset Management

The Private Equity Business Model

2:00 PM | 2023-10-05

Michael Spera

Vice President | Goldman Sachs Asset Management

Michael Spera is a Vice President in the Financing and Debt Capital Markets Group at Goldman Sachs Asset Management, based in New York. He is involved in origination, structuring, and execution of bespoke asset backed, derivative, and capital commitments debt transactions across the platform. Michael also maintains relationships across derivatives desks and works with various business lines on negotiating trading agreements.

Michael has been at Goldman Sachs for nine years, spending time with the direct investing businesses (legacy Merchant Banking Division), fund of funds, and other private markets products, where he has led numerous deals and worked across from structuring professionals at a variety of financial institutions, including banks, insurance companies, pension funds, and sovereign wealth funds. He received a BS in Business Management from Babson College.

Annie Wallis

Sidley Austin LLP

NAV Loan Structures, Issues, and Underwriting

9:55 AM | 2023-10-05

Annie Wallis

Partner | Sidley Austin LLP

Annie Wallis is a partner in the Chicago office. She practices in the Global Finance group. Her practice includes secured and unsecured lending transactions, cash flow and asset based leverage facilities, merger and acquisition financing, mezzanine and second lien financings, debt restructurings, private debt and financings of alternative assets, including financings for investment funds and asset managers (such as NAV facilities, fund-of-fund facilities, margin loans, and capital call facilities), and film, media and entertainment financing. She represents lenders, participants, agents, sponsors, originators and borrowers in single-bank and syndicated credits. Her clients include investment banks, commercial banks, hedge funds, private equity funds and public and private companies.

Annie completed a two-month assignment in Sidley’s Sydney, Australia office, representing foreign private issuers and investment banks in a number of different institutional debt private placements, including traditional 4(a)(2) private placements and Rule 144A offerings.

Variety has named Annie to its Legal Impact Report for 2019 and 2021, and its Dealmakers Impact Report for 2020. She was recognized for her work on behalf of MUFG Union Bank in connection with the Weinstein Co. and Open Road Films bankruptcies, representing The Raine Group in the launch of Thrill One Sports & Entertainment, and for her work in representing film production and distribution company Neon Rated.

Sidley Austin LLP

Sidley is an elite global law firm powered by lawyers who practice at the highest level of the profession. Backed by 158 years of experience, we deliver superior service to a high-caliber group of market-leading clients worldwide, while placing a premium on collaboration and diversity. Our firm boasts a roster of 2,300 lawyers who wield deep experience in transactional, regulatory, and litigation matters spanning over 50 legal disciplines and industries.

Our fund finance practice is a team of highly skilled and dedicated practitioners at the forefront of the rapidly expanding fund finance market. With vast experience in all types of fund financing products we build and maintain deep relationships with fund, borrower, and lender side clients. We have experience with every major investment fund strategy and asset class, including many esoteric asset classes, and we represent our clients in all aspects of the structuring, negotiation, administration, restructuring, and termination of fund finance transactions. With 21 offices situated in major commercial and financial capitals around the world, our lawyers possess the cultural awareness and legal acumen needed to advise clients in today’s global economy.

We are nationally recognized by several industry publications, including:

Tier 1 national ranking in Banking and Finance Law

U.S. News – Best Lawyers “Best Law Firms” (2010 – 2024)

Consistently recognized as a leading firm for Banking and Finance

Chambers USA (2007 – 2024)

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