Bissie K. Bonner

Bissie K. Bonner is a Partner in the Firm’s Registered Funds Practice. She represents registered investment companies, including mutual funds, exchange-traded funds and closed-end funds, their investment advisers and their boards in connection with disclosure issues, regulatory compliance, corporate governance, policy changes, reorganizations and restructurings, tender offers, liquidations and other operational matters.

Bissie also has significant experience in the organization and offering of registered funds, including open-end and closed-end fund IPOs. She frequently advises closed-end funds regarding shelf registration statements and a range of secondary offerings, including at-the market offerings of common stock, rights offerings to purchase common stock and underwritten and private offerings of preferred stock.

Her experience with corporate governance matters includes advising open-end and closed-end fund boards in connection with Investment Company Act of 1940 and state law matters, with respect to contract approvals, fund launches, capital markets transactions and reorganizations, among others. She also has experience counseling closed-end fund boards on interactions with activist investors and anti-activist measures.

Notable experience prior to joining Simpson Thacher includes advising:

• One of the world’s largest asset managers in connection with several closed-end fund IPOs, including some of the largest capital raises in history
• A major closed-end fund sponsor in connection with stopping activist takeovers of several of its closed-end funds
• Multiple fund sponsors on the launch of numerous open-end funds
• Closed-end funds in evaluating potential actions to address discounts and implement anti-shareholder activist measures
• Multiple closed-end fund sponsors in connection with shelf registration statements, including some of the first closed-end funds to register as well-known issuers
• Several closed-end fund sponsors on at-the-market offerings of common stock and offerings of rights to acquire common stock and rated preferred stock
• A large asset manager on numerous closed-end and open-end fund reorganizations
• Multiple fund sponsors on various types of proxy solicitations, including director elections, charter amendments, assignments of advisory contracts and fundamental policy changes
• A fund sponsor on obtaining a waiver from disqualification from serving as an investment adviser under Section 9(c) of the Investment Company Act of 1940
• A committee of independent trustees of a fund in responding to a shareholder demand relating to the fund’s management fee

Bissie also serves as Secretary of the New York City Bar Association’s Committee on Investment Management Regulation.

Bissie received her J.D. in 2013 from the Columbia Law School and her B.A. in 2010 from Georgetown University. She is admitted to practice in New York.