Todd F. Lurie

Todd Lurie advises clients on structuring and negotiating complex, bespoke derivatives and structured credit transactions to mitigate risk while maximizing returns in volatile, rapidly evolving markets.

Sophisticated mid- to large-size financial institutions including banks, corporations, and private and registered funds seek Todd’s guidance in managing complex investments in all asset classes, including derivatives, fixed income, equity and structured finance securities ,and digital assets with a focus on collateralized transactions the U.S., U.K. and Europe. He also advises on regulatory requirements related to derivatives, securities lending, repo and securities forwards, negotiates trade confirmations for credit, equity and commodity derivatives transactions and maximizes derivative use in fund formation.

Todd is well-versed in negotiating investment documentation with banks and other trading partners related to complex financial instruments that facilitate recurring trading. In the realm of financial services and fintech, Todd negotiates a broad array of service agreements and contracts and advises on investment and regulatory requirements for cryptocurrency, digital assets and tokenization. Todd is actively involved in several trade organizations including the International Swaps and Derivatives Association (ISDA) serving on several steering committees and working groups focusing on clearing of U.S. Treasury and repo transactions, collateral management and tokenization, digital currencies, financial technology and trading of carbon credits and other emissions.

Before joining Vedder, Todd was Vice President and Associate General Counsel for MetLife, where he was responsible for strategic advisory for MetLife's global derivatives platform, including documentation, transactional review and engagement with state, federal and global regulators. He leverages this invaluable experience and perspective to structure practical, executable solutions that address his clients' business and legal challenges and meet or exceed their short-term tactical and long-term strategic goals.

Experience

• Improved returns while increasing AUM for a client by using customized equity and commodity derivatives to implement an algorithmic trading strategy. This required negotiating customized trading agreements with multiple counterparties to achieve maximum flexibility in managing the strategy. The successful completion of this project enabled the client to expand its fund offerings in equity indexes and commodities.
• Expanded lending syndicates for aircraft and railcar warehouse facilities. Negotiated standardized ISDAs with favorable restructuring and termination provisions to facilitate acquisition and disposition of airplanes and railcars.
• Advised on interest rate and foreign currency hedging and collateralization related to portfolio company investments of private equity funds.
• Facilitated a partnership between a client's subsidiary and the government of a Caribbean nation for the production of aluminum to be used in the parent company’s operations without exposing the parent company to liability. Created an innovative participation structure that enabled the client to hedge its exposure to price changes in the cost of aluminum without incurring liability for the joint venture between its subsidiary and the local government.
• Monetized excess carbon credits generated by a parent company’s European subsidiary by entering into a derivatives contract for voluntary carbon credits. Negotiated derivatives documentation, including trade confirmations with multiple counterparties.
• Facilitated restructuring of a client’s European operations while minimizing the tax impact of assigning derivatives to a new European subsidiary. Utilized foreign exchange swaps to enable hedging of non-U.S. operations to simplify Treasury operations and increase liquidity.