Nicole Runyan

Practice Areas

Nicole M. Runyan heads the registered funds practice at Kirkland, which sits on the largest global platform for asset managers. She has over two decades of experience advising clients on the formation, registration, operation and oversight of all types of registered funds as well as business development companies (BDCs), real estate investment trusts (REITs) and non-registered "retail" vehicles, include retail 3(c)(7) funds and exempt "holdco" structures.

Nicole has a broad background representing mutual funds, ETFs, listed closed-end funds and other traditional registered funds investing across a variety of asset classes and strategies, including: public and private U.S., developed and emerging market equities; private credit, structured credit, high-yield, preferred securities, directly originated and broadly syndicated loans and other income-producing strategies; real estate and infrastructure assets; and commodities and natural resource assets.

She also commits significant time to counseling clients on the design and offering of alternative investment products, such as BDCs, REITs, funds of funds, interval funds and tender offer funds, and similar non-registered vehicles that offer access for retail and high net worth investors to a variety of traditional “private market” asset classes, including on a primary, secondary, direct or co-investment basis.

Additionally, Nicole advises clients on a full range of regulatory issues, including regulatory and compliance matters, SEC exemptive relief applications and compliance, trading and conflict issues, registration and disclosure matters, seed capital and other funding transactions, financing arrangements, and extraordinary events such as restructurings, acquisitions and activist matters.

Nicole’s representative clients include: Adams Street Partners, Alger, Apollo, Ares, Bain Capital, BDT & MSD Partners, Blue Owl, Coatue, Cliffwater, Crescent Capital, First Pacific Advisors, Fortress, Macquarie, Neuberger Berman, Polen Capital, Vista Equity Partners, Willow Tree Credit Partners and 5C Investment Partners.