Law firm K&L Gates has appointed a partner for its asset management and investment fund practice, joining from asset manager Maple-Brown Abbott.
Matthew Watts would join the firm as a partner, previously he was general counsel at Maple-Brown Abbott and also spent time as executive legal counsel at First Sentier Investors.
This was his second time at K&L Gates, having previously spent five years at the firm until February 2019 before moving in-house to fund managers.
He had extensive experience in advising on investment fund formation, capital raising, mergers and acquisition, financial services regulation and Australian corporate law.
K&L Gates global asset management and investment funds practice area leader, Michael Caccese, said: “Matthew returns to K&L Gates after spending more than four years in-house working closely with Boards and senior management on key business initiatives.
“He brings to the firm and our clients a wealth of experience advising internal stakeholders on local and offshore fund establishment and restructuring, asset acquisitions, and the implementation of regulatory changes such as design and distribution obligations, breach reporting and changes to the Australian fee disclosure regime.”
