Bissie K. Bonner
Partner, Asset Management
Bissie K. Bonner is a partner in the Asset Management Department. Ms. Bonner’s practice focuses on representing registered investment companies, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and closed-end funds, their investment advisers and their boards. She regularly advises registered funds and their boards in connection with disclosure issues, regulatory compliance, corporate governance, policy changes, reorganizations and restructurings, liquidations, and other operational matters. Ms. Bonner has significant experience in the organization and offering of registered funds, including open-end and closed-end fund IPOs. She frequently provides advice to closed-end funds regarding shelf registration statements and a range of secondary offerings, including at-the market offerings of common stock, rights offerings to purchase common stock, and underwritten and private offerings of preferred stock. Ms. Bonner’s experience with corporate governance matters includes advising open-end and closed-end fund boards in connection with their responsibilities under the Investment Company Act of 1940 and state law with respect to contract approvals, fund launches, capital markets transactions and reorganizations, among other things. She also has experience counseling closed-end fund boards on interactions with activist investors and anti-activist measures.
Experience
- Represented a committee of independent trustees of a fund advised by a major fund sponsor in responding to a shareholder demand relating to the fund’s management fee
- Advised multiple fund sponsors on the launch of numerous open-end funds, including ESG funds
- Counseled one of the world’s largest asset managers in connection with several closed-end fund IPOs, including some of the largest raises in history
- Advised a major closed-end fund sponsor in connection with stopping an activist takeover of several of its closed-end funds
- Counseled closed-end funds in evaluating potential actions to address discounts and implement anti-shareholder activist measures
- Advised multiple closed-end fund sponsors in connection with shelf registration statements, including some of the first closed-end funds to register as well-known seasoned issuers
- Represented several closed-end fund sponsors on at-the-market offerings of common stock, rights to acquire common stock and rated preferred stock
- Advised a large asset manager on numerous closed-end and open-end fund reorganizations
- Advised multiple fund sponsors on various types of proxy solicitations, including director elections, charter amendments, assignments of advisory contracts and fundamental policy changes
- Represented a fund sponsor on obtaining a waiver from disqualification from serving as an investment adviser under Section 9(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
Credentials
Education
Columbia Law School, J.D., 2013 Georgetown University, B.A., 2010