Allison M. Fumai
Partner | New York
Allison M. Fumai

Allison M. Fumai, a member of the firm’s Policy Committee, focuses her practice on the representation of registered investment companies and their investment advisers. She regularly advises mutual funds, closed-end funds and exchange-traded funds and their investment advisers on issues relating to the development and launch of new funds, ongoing compliance and regulatory matters, mergers, liquidations and restructuring of funds.

Ms. Fumai also has extensive experience advising issuers and underwriters on initial public offerings and rights offerings for closed-end funds. She has particular expertise with exchange-traded funds and represents a significant number of exchange-traded fund sponsors and exchange-traded funds in connection with their exemptive relief, launch of unique products and other issues relating to exchange-traded funds.

Ms. Fumai was recently listed as one of the top 10 women leading the '40 Act legal space by Fund Board Views. She was also honored as “Investment Consultant of the Year” at the Women in Asset Management Awards. She has been recognized as a leading lawyer for registered funds by Chambers USA and The Legal 500 (U.S.). In the most recent edition of Chambers, a client stated that she is “very commercial and proactive" and "a super strong attorney.” In a previous edition, clients noted: “Allison is very knowledgeable, presents information succinctly and provides good guidance. She is just terrific.” Chambers has also stated that she is “able to encapsulate and explain how the ETF world works,” and clients declared that “she is thoughtful, articulate and measured; she is great at keeping her clients abreast of new regulatory and legal developments.” A past edition of The Legal 500 noted that she is “a rock star with deep knowledge of the ETF industry.” She has also been recognized in IFLR1000 in the areas of Financial Services Regulatory and Investment Funds. Ms. Fumai was appointed to the Board of Women in ETFs in 2023.

In 2021, she was recognized for her dedication to the New York City Family Court Volunteer Attorney Program. The recognition was part of the NYS Unified Court System’s Office for Justice Initiatives, the New York State Bar Association, and the New York County Lawyer’s Association Pro Bono Volunteer Recognition Program. Ms. Fumai is also part of a team that won “Best ETF Regulatory/Compliance Adviser” at the ETF Express U.S. Awards, 2021. She has received a number of accolades from industry publications, including: Rising Stars, Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Expert Guides series, investment funds (2017); Rising Stars, Euromoney Legal Media Group’s Americas Women in Business Law Awards, finance (2013, 2016); Fund Action’s Rising Stars (2014); and SuperLawyers New York Metro Area “Rising Star” (2013).

  • Mutual Fund/SMA to ETF Conversion: Maximizing Flexibility and Efficiency —NYSE ETF Industry Summit, New York, NY (October 30, 2023)
  • Fireside Chat: Responsible AI with Microsoft's Cass Matthews, 2023 Permanent & Private Capital Summit, Dechert LLP – New York, NY (June 13, 2023)
  • The Changing ETF Legal & Compliance Landscape — ETP Forum, New York, NY (May 25, 2023)
  • Navigating the Recent SEC Rule Proposal - First Look: The SEC’s Liquidity and Swing Pricing Proposal — Dechert LLP, Webinar (November 10, 2022)
  • Outline of ETF Structures for Asset Managers — SS&C Technologies, Webinar (November 8, 2022)
  • ESG ETFS: Best Practices for Building an ESG Franchise — NYSE ETF Summit, Webcast (April 27, 2021) 
  • How Regulations Have and Will Shape the ETF Industry — Women in ETFs Global 2021 Conference, Webcast (January 27, 2021)
  • Closed-End Fund Activism – Implementing Fund Defensive Measures — ICI's Virtual Closed-End Fund Conference, Webcast (November 5, 2020) 
  • Legal and Regulatory Updates for 2020 — NYSE ETF Summit, Webcast (September 29, 2020) 
  • Fund Needs Cash? How About a Rights Offering? — Dechert LLP, Webinar (March 25, 2020)
  • The Non-transparent ETF Revolution & the Inevitable Adoption — Inside ETFs presented by Informa, Hollywood, FL (January 28, 2020)
  • Private Credit, BDCs & Everything in Between: Co-Investment Exemptive Relief  Dechert LLP, Webinar (May 15, 2019)
  • Exchange-Traded Funds — Investment Management Institute 2019 presented by the Practising Law Institute, New York, NY (March 22, 2019) 
  • SEC ETF Rule Proposal — 2018 San Francisco Investment Management Symposium, San Francisco, CA (November 13, 2018)
  • ETF Industry of Tomorrow — ’40 Acts Committee Luncheon, New York, NY (November 7, 2018)
  • SEC Proposes Rule to Allow Most ETFs to Operate without Exemptive Relief — Dechert LLP, Webinar (July 25, 2018)
  • CEFs – Addressing Primary & Secondary Market Challenges — Closed-End Funds & Global ETFs Forum presented by Capital Link, New York (May 17, 2018)
  • Exchange-Traded Funds Investment Management Institute 2018 presented by the Practising Law Institute, New York, NY (March 23, 2018)
  • Registered Funds — 2017 Los Angeles Investment Management Symposium, Los Angeles, CA (November 29, 2017)
  • ETFs: The Onward March Continues — 2017 San Francisco Investment Management Symposium, San Francisco, CA (November 28, 2017)
  • IPO Launched: Now What? Examining the Secondary Market Trading of Closed-End Fund Shares — 2017 Closed-End Fund Conference presented by the Investment Company Institute, New York (November 9, 2017)
  • Mutual Funds and ETFs Breakout Session — Pricewaterhouse Coopers LLP's Asset and Wealth Management Day, New York (November 2, 2017)
  • Establishing and Distributing ETFs in Europe — Dechert LLP, Webinar (September 11, 2017)
  • SEC & Exchange Initiatives: What to Expect & How to Prepare — 2017 ETF Regulatory Summit, New York (April 6, 2017)
  • Exchange-Traded Funds — Investment Management Institute 2017 presented by the Practising Law Institute, New York (March 24, 2017)
  • The Evolution of Investing: Opportunities and Challenges in the ETF Marketplace — 2017 ICI Mutual Fund and Investment Management Conference, Palm Desert, CA (March 13, 2017)
  • Exchange-Traded Funds – the Changing Landscape — 27th Annual Conference on the Globalisation of Investment Funds presented by the IBA Investment Funds Committee, New York (May 8, 2016)
  • Regulatory Roundup: Proposals and Priorities — 2016 Risk Management Conference presented by ICI Mutual, New Orleans (April 6-8, 2016)
  • ETFs Under the Microscope: Trends and Developments — 2015 San Francisco Investment Management Symposium, San Francisco, CA (December 9, 2015)
  • State of the Closed-End Fund Market 2015: Product Innovations and Shareholder Activism — 2015 Closed-End Fund Conference presented by the Investment Company Institute, New York (November 4, 2015)
  • Investment Company Regulation: History, Evolution and Future Developments — Dechert LLP, New York, NY (October 6, 2015)
  • Directors College — Dechert LLP, New York, NY (March 4, 2015)
  • So You Think You Want Permanent Capital? Options for Permanent Capital Vehicles — Current Trends in Permanent Capital: What Alternative Managers Need to Know Now presented by Dechert LLP, New York, NY (January 22, 2015)
  • Current Developments Affecting the Fund Industry — Dechert LLP, Orlando, FL (March 18, 2014)
  • US-Listed Funds – Options and Opportunities for Asian Managers — Dechert LLP, Hong Kong (January 22, 2014)
  • Trends in Closed-End Fund Offerings — 2013 Closed-End Fund Conference presented by Investment Company Institute, New York, NY (November 5, 2013)
  • Product Development and Marketing of Hedge Funds — Citi Prime Finance, New York, NY (March 19, 2013)
  • Asset Management Roundtable — Dechert LLP, New York, NY (March 19, 2013)
  • Product Development Opportunities in the Commodity and Alternative Fund Space — Dechert LLP, Webinar (July 25, 2012)
Services
    • Cornell University, A.B., Economics, 1999
    • Cornell Law School, J.D., 2002
    • New York
    • New Jersey