David J. Baum

David advises registered investment companies, investment advisers, and broker-dealers on regulatory, compliance and transactional matters affecting the development and operation of investment products.

His practice centers on helping clients navigate SEC regulation under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and related securities laws to support product launches, distribution strategies and ongoing operations.

David represents open-end funds, exchange-traded funds, interval funds and closed-end funds, as well as their boards and advisers on matters involving formation, registration, disclosure, governance and compliance. He regularly counsels clients on fund structuring, investment management and service provider arrangements, distribution relationships and adviser transactions, including mergers and acquisitions. David also advises on status and structural issues under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 and represents clients in their interactions with regulators.

In addition to his legal practice, David brings a disciplined, solutions-oriented perspective shaped by his prior service as a surface warfare officer in the U.S. Navy. He is a member of the Investment Company Institute’s Outside Counsel Advisory Group and is known for delivering practical guidance that aligns regulatory requirements with business objectives.

Experience

*Includes David’s previous experience.

• Counsel to registered investment companies, and their boards or advisers on organization, registration, regulation, disclosure, compliance, and operational matters.
• Counsel to mutual funds, ETFs, interval funds, and closed-end tender offer funds on registration and on-going compliance and regulatory matters.
• Advised a variety of financial institutions on regulatory matters under the Advisers Act and Investment Company Act in connection with M&A transactions.
• Advised numerous funds, their boards, and independent directors in connection with reorganizations including  mutual fund conversions to ETFs.
• Counsel to a variety of public and private companies on investment company status issues under federal securities laws.
• Advised the distributor of a top-10 mutual fund complex regarding regulatory issues related to the distribution of fund shares and in negotiating selling, shareholder servicing, networking, and revenue-sharing agreements.
• Counseled several funds organized as business development companies on ongoing regulatory matters.
• Counsel to a variety of broker-dealers on the retail distribution of securities, including structuring the various programs through which securities are offered, particularly with respect to the distribution of mutual fund shares.
• Advised the underwriter in the private offering of variable rate extendible notes by a closed-end fund.
• Advised the underwriter in the initial public offering of a high-income bond closed-end fund.