Winston & Strawn announced the launch of its permanent capital solutions group. The firm formed this group, which is unique to the legal industry, to address the evolution of fund formation activities and diversification of investment strategies that are occurring in the asset management industry, and to help asset managers take advantage of permanent capital and other specialty finance structures.

“The past few years have seen a fundamental shift in the way asset managers are thinking about their capital raising activities. The features and strategies that permanent capital vehicles make possible have become a significant focal point in the industry,” said Chris Zochowski, co-chair of Winston’s M&A and securities practice and leader of the firm’s permanent capital solutions group. “Asset managers are seeking ways to leverage the freedom and opportunity that permanent capital and other novel structures can provide. Our team is well-positioned to help them navigate the array of issues implicated by these structures, while addressing their business objectives.”

Winston’s permanent capital solutions group brings together a diverse team of attorneys focused on conceptualizing, structuring, and negotiating novel structures to help asset managers achieve goals. In particular, Zochowski has significant transactional experience working across the range of existing permanent capital structures, including BDCs, REITs, PCAPs, PTPs and SPACs, as well as in developing new and flexible structures that combine traditional fund concepts with innovative corporate, economic, and tax features. Zochowski also has been frequently called upon by market-leading and middle market asset managers, investment banks, and financial advisors to provide advice regarding the issues associated with specialty finance vehicles.

“Chris is widely recognized as a national thought leader in the evolving permanent capital space, particularly with respect to the broad range of structures and features that are available to financial sponsors and asset managers,” said Dom DeChiara, chair of Winston’s corporate department. “His recent addition to the firm combined with our already broad and deep asset management and specialty finance capabilities enables us to offer clients a unique and full-service solution to take advantage of both traditional and innovative financing techniques.”