About 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 in and to creators and distributors of alternative investments.

A practical approach to business structuring and compliance
  • Financial Markets and Funds. Henry provides guidance on fund formation and regulatory compliance to all types of alternative investment funds, including hedge, private equity and hybrid funds. 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, structured products and other matters.
  • Insurance Products and Regulation. 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 (IDFs) and privately placed life insurance and annuities (PPPLI/PPVA).
  • Cryptoassets and Blockchain Technology. He represents assets managers, funds, token issuers, platforms and service providers with respect to fund formation and disclosure, lending transactions, token design and issuance (including with respect to SAFEs/SAFTEs and intellectual property issues) and regulatory issues, among other matters.
  • Regulatory. 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).
  • ESG and Sustainable Investing. Henry has been advising clients on ESG and sustainable investing matters for nearly 20 years, long before the current significant focus on this area.

Whatever the issue, Henry provides counsel 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.

Innovations worth protecting

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.

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"He works tirelessly to develop unique strategies and creative solutions for complex projects."

The Legal 500 United States 2023
(Alternative/Hedge Funds) survey response

Practice Focus

  • Private funds and investment management
  • Securities regulation
  • Privately placement life insurance and annuities, IDFs and ID-SMAs
  • Enforcement actions and litigation
  • Structured products
  • Distributed ledger products

News

Publications

Presentations and Events

Practices
Industries
Education
  • Benjamin N. Cardozo School of Law, JD, magna cum laude
  • University of Pennsylvania, BA
Bar Admissions
  • New York
Community Involvements
  • New York City Bar, Middle Eastern & North African Affairs Committee
  • New York State Bar Association
Recognitions
Recognized or listed in the following:
  • Best Lawyers in America
    Private Funds/Hedge Funds Law, 2018–2025
  • Chambers Global
    Investment Funds: Hedge Funds
    USA, 2010, 2012–2024
  • Chambers USA
    Hedge Funds, 2009–2024
  • HFM US Services Awards
    Best Onshore Law Firm – Start Ups, 2020
  • The Legal 500 United States
    Recommended Attorney, 2008–2023
  • Who's Who Legal
    Private Funds
    Regulatory, 2016
Award Methodologies