Emma Rodriguez-Ayala

Emma Rodriguez-Ayala is an investment management attorney, with a business-minded and solutions-oriented approach to counseling clients. Emma leverages both in-house and private practice perspectives to advise investment advisers and investors throughout the U.S. on legal, regulatory, compliance and corporate matters. She has experience working on sophisticated international investment management matters.

Emma is skilled in complex alternative investment structuring, including structuring direct-trading funds, funds-of-funds, customized/single-investor funds and managed accounts. She coordinates investments and sale offerings for private funds, developing offering terms that are market appropriate and achieve desired investment results.

Emma drafts and negotiates customized terms for institutional investors’ investments in private funds and assists with legal and compliance due diligence on private funds and investment advisers, including reviews of all legal and compliance documents, policies and procedures.

The combination of Emma’s investment management expertise with her community-driven work has positioned her as an impact investing expert, assisting investment managers, non-profits, and other entities with structuring and offering investment funds that aim to deliver both economic and social impact returns.

She advises social impact clients with the launch and capital raising for both their management companies and their investment funds. Most recently, she has been at the forefront of advising on Qualified Opportunity Funds and their investments in Opportunity Zones, as provided by the 2017 Tax Cuts and Jobs Act.

Emma helps investment advisers develop, implement and test compliance programs that are business-focused, including: conducting compliance and operational risk assessments, advising on marketing practices (including reviews of marketing materials, requests for proposal and investor communications), and training personnel.

Emma assists clients with investment adviser and investment fund regulatory reporting requirements in the U.S. and internationally, including those reportable to the SEC, CFTC, Treasury Department, Department of Labor, Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Cayman Islands regulatory authorities and the European Securities Market Authority.

Emma engages in regulatory advocacy for the private funds industry, including presenting to the CFTC staff on risk management practices by commodity pool operators and working with other market participants to successfully advocate before the SEC, the CFTC, FINRA, NFA and ESMA.

Education :

• University of Chicago Law School, J.D. (2006)
• Saint Louis University, B.S. in International Business, summa cum laude, Alpha Sigma Nu, Beta Gamma Sigma (2003)

Bar Admissions : Illinois

Civic Activities :

• Association of Latino Professionals for America, Inc. – President, Chicago Chapter
• iMentor – Chicago Advisory Board
• University of Chicago Law School Doctoroff Business Leadership Program – Mentor