- Represented a real estate investment fund manager with approximately $35 billion regulated assets under management (RAUM) in all “outsourced general counsel” aspects of the business, including the formation and management of closed- and open-ended vehicles and separate accounts, negotiations with investors’ counsel, and advising on regulatory and compliance matters. Coordinated between Delaware and Luxembourg vehicles catering to a range of international, institutional investors.
- Counseled RIA client through the formation and launch of complex carry plan vehicles to facilitate profit sharing with key employees.
- Represented and facilitated the ongoing investment management needs of a hybrid private equity and hedge fund client with a $60 billion RAUM with a focus on funds in the operational private equity and real estate investment spaces.
- Counseled a real estate investment fund manager with approximately $4 billion RAUM on the management of its flagship open-ended fund and the formation and reorganization of various co-investment vehicles and joint ventures (JVs).
- Advised a private fund manager in the formation of a $1billion impact fund specifically investing portfolio companies and timberland opportunities with the objective of improving the environmental vitality of the State of California.
- Advised sponsors and managers of insurance dedicated funds including preparing offering materials and negotiating IMAs on behalf of an outside manager of insurance-dedicated vehicles.
- Advised a multibillion-dollar endowment in its evaluation of and investment into various private equity and venture funds.
- Prepared offering documents for a private equity fund formed specifically to invest in private investments in public equity (PIPE) transactions in the initial business combinations of special purpose acquisition companies (SPACs).
- Led the fund formation and launch process of a venture fund focused on investing in nonfungible tokens (NFTs), decentralized autonomous organization tokens (DAOs), other tokens, equities, SAFEs, crypto protocols, and other creator infrastructure and novel financial market infrastructure.
- Managed multiple fund closings and MFN obligations for an open-ended fund employing a master-feeder structure consisting of Delaware limited partnerships and Cayman Islands exempted limited partnerships.
Counsel,
- Phone: +1 704 444 1451
- Email: gina.russoniello@alston.com
When advising fund clients, Gina builds strong relationships that give her a deep understanding of her clients’ needs. Clients value her private funds expertise and her genuine interest in their individual goals.
Gina Russoniello is counsel in Alston & Bird’s Investment Funds Group and a member of the Private Funds Team. Gina concentrates her practice on fund formation and investment management, and focuses on the structure, formation, and ongoing management of domestic and offshore investment funds. Gina has extensive experience counseling sponsors and managers of real estate investment funds and is an emerging leader in this field.
Gina’s background includes a broad range of experience representing managers of private equity funds and the institutional investors that invest in them. Gina’s sponsor-side work includes the formation and management of open-ended and closed-ended vehicles, as well as funds of one and separately managed accounts. On the investor side, Gina has vast experience counseling institutional limited partners, including endowments, sovereign wealth funds, and family offices evaluating potential private fund investments. She frequently advises clients on compliance with the Investment Advisers Act of 1940 as well as the industry’s market standards in the ever-evolving world of investment funds.
Gina has been recognized in Best Lawyers: Ones to Watch® since 2024.
Gina earned her J.D. from the University of Pennsylvania Law School and a B.S., summa cum laude, from the Pennsylvania State University, Schreyer Honors College. She has a passion for volunteer legal work serving refugees and displaced families, learning languages (especially Italian and Arabic), and international travel.
Languages
- Italian
Bar Admissions
- New Jersey
- North Carolina
- Pennsylvania
Education
- University of Pennsylvania (J.D., 2015)
- Pennsylvania State University (B.S., 2012)
Memberships
- Pension Real Estate Association
- Charlotte Center for Legal Advocacy, asylum pro bono lawyer