Weite (Wendy) Li

Her regulatory experience spans the EU’s Alternative Investment Fund Managers Directive (AIFMD) and Markets in Financial Instruments Directive 2014 (MiFID II), and the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) regulations, advising clients on fund marketing restrictions, regulatory capital requirements and financial promotion rules. Wendy has also worked extensively with asset managers and institutional investors on the implementation of EU Sustainable Finance Disclosure Regulation (SFDR) and UK Sustainability Disclosure Requirement (SDR) aligned ESG-reporting frameworks, helping clients to navigate the evolving sustainable-finance landscape and to integrate sustainability considerations into fund prospectuses, due diligence processes and investment strategies.

Wendy provides cross-border legal insight, having obtained qualifications in four major jurisdictions — England & Wales, New York, Australia (Victoria), and mainland China. With cross-continental experience in Europe, Australia and Asia, she is adept at advising on complex multijurisdictional fund structuring, cross-border regulatory compliance and global investment strategies. Wendy is also a talented relationship-builder who introduces clients to other relevant businesses and opportunities.

Representative Experience

Private Fund Formation

• Represented multiple European mid-market fund managers on their private equity fundraising worths from US$200 million to US$400 million. Extensive experience in advising the relevant fund regulatory filings, including the FCA national private placement regime (NPPR) registration and the relevant U.S. federal and state securities filings and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission (CFTC) exemption.
• Represented large institutional investors and limited partnerships (LPs) including sovereign wealth investors on their investments or co-investments in multiple private equity and real estate funds and special-purpose vehicles (SPVs), ranging from US$100 million to US$500 million. Provide end-to-end support to LP investors from term sheet negotiation and limited partnership agreement (LPA) review through to post-closing matters such as most-favored nation (MFN) elections.

Private Alternatives Offering

• Represented a major U.S. bank’s private alternatives arm on the formation of feeder funds or direct investment arrangements for the bank’s private wealth clients to invest in multiple private equity, infrastructure or secondaries strategy funds in the U.S. and Europe.

Other Investment Management Work

• Represented multiple family offices on setting up their UK presences, preparing necessary investment management documentation, transferring their fund investments and direct company investments into more tax-efficient structures, and other investment management queries.
• Represented a European telecommunication company on structuring and negotiating a joint venture with a Middle Eastern sovereign wealth fund for a US$500 million investment into multiple data centre projects across Europe.
• Represented a global asset management firm on its acquisition of a leading UK private credit manager.

Financial Regulatory & ESG Work

• Advised multiple UK and overseas fund managers on the preparation and implementation of specific policies and procedures to comply with the SFDR and the SDR.
• Advised a global fintech company on its US$910 million acquisition of a global provider of cross-border payment solutions, with extensive experience in the UK FCA and the Luxembourg CSSF change-in-control processes.
• Advised a software technology company on obtaining the FCA authorisation as an authorized payment institution (API) for its escrow services.

Personal Interests

In her free time, Wendy enjoys turning home-cooked dishes into “Michelin-esque” experiences, hosting friends with journeys of over 10 courses. Having worked or lived in Asia, Australia, the U.S. and Europe, Wendy loves to create real “fusion” food based on her understanding of drawing on global culinary traditions.