Henry Bregstein

Henry Bregstein is chair of Katten's Alternative Products practice. He combines a great sense of business practicality with an innovative legal mindset in his practice advising varied market participants on business structuring, financial product engineering and regulatory compliance. He is recognized as a leading adviser to investment managers and funds of all kinds, as well as to investors and distributors of alternative investments. Henry provides guidance on fund formation and regulatory compliance to all types of alternative investment funds, including hedge, private equity and hybrid funds. With his combined knowledge of securities, commodities, tax and insurance laws, he is among a small handful of leading attorneys nationwide in the area of insurance-dedicated funds and privately placed life insurance and annuities. Taking into consideration global regulatory, commercial and tax issues, he advises on the structure and documentation of private funds and asset managers, investments in alternatives, lending transactions and other matters. He also assists with regulatory matters, including responding to inquiries from the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Financial Industry Regulatory Authority (FINRA) and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC). Whatever the issue, Henry provides advice that is clear, actionable and driven by his depth of experience, all in the service of his clients' long-term business interests. His many clients include asset managers, banks, investment advisers, broker-dealers, insurance companies, real estate investment trusts (REITS), family offices and sovereign wealth funds. Henry and his team handle a wide range of matters for them, including intellectual property issues, private offerings of debt and equity, and the structuring of private equity transactions for operating companies. Henry's evolving practice also includes regulatory enforcement and litigation. He represents market participants and individuals before the SEC, FINRA and other regulators in investigations and enforcement proceedings. An innovator in his field, Henry holds two patents and has one patent application pending. He was granted a patent for a multilevel leverage account structure, allowing multiple classes of investors with differing leverage objectives to establish an investment structure that takes advantage of both the master-feeder structure and the reverse master feeder structure with segregated accounts in the same master fund. Henry's pending patent application involves a tax-deferred fund in which investors can obtain exposure to variable annuities and life insurance policies in a hedge fund structure with income tax deferment or elimination.