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MoFo Advised Burgundy Asset Management on Sale to BMO

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MoFo advised Burgundy Asset Management, a leading wealth manager with C$27 billion in discretionary assets under management on...

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MoFo advised Burgundy Asset Management, a leading wealth manager with C$27 billion in discretionary assets under management on September 30, 2025, as US regulatory counsel in its sale to BMO Financial Group (BMO), the seventh largest banking organization in North America by assets, with total assets of C$1.4 trillion. The transaction’s completion was announced on November 3, 2025.The MoFo team advising Burgundy Asset Management was led by investment management partner Derek Steingarten and associate Aaron Russ, together with mergers + acquisitions partner Shiri Shenhav, broker-dealer compliance + regulation partner Val Dahiya, and other key members of MoFo’s regulatory and transaction teams. Read the <a href="https://newsroom.bmo.com/2025-11-03-BMO-Completes-Acquisition-of-Burgundy-Asset-Management" target="_blank">press release</a>.

MoFo Advised Burgundy Asset Management on Sale to BMO

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Derek Steingarten is a partner in Morrison Foerster’s New York office, co-chair of the firm’s Investment Management Group, and co-head of the Securities + Derivatives Regulatory Solutions team. He also serves on the global Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) steering committee at Morrison Foerster.Derek has 25 years of experience advising a wide range of registered and private fund sponsors and other institutional asset managers. He counsels clients on the fund formation, capital raising, marketing, and compliance needs of hedge funds, private equity funds, private credit funds and fund of funds, sub-advised funds, bank collective funds, institutional separate accounts, managed account platforms, mutual funds, ETFs, and other registered vehicles, such as interval funds and BDCs. His broad experience allows him to advise clients on regulatory and transactional issues in a way that is tailored to the lifecycles of their businesses and financial product offerings. This includes managing regulatory and governance issues under the Investment Company Act, the Investment Advisers Act, and other U.S. federal securities laws, including SEC examinations, investigations, regulatory enforcement, and disputes.Asset managers regularly engage Derek as an active partner in transaction negotiations and due diligence for wealth management industry acquisitions, lift-outs, and strategic combinations and restructurings. He has extensive experience with state- and federal-chartered trust companies and their specialized role within the wealth management industry. Derek is recognized in Chambers most recent legal ranking guides including Chambers Global 2025 and Chambers USA 2024 nationwide, with clients noting that he “offers quality business-oriented counsel and unfailing responsiveness” and that he is “thoughtful and clear in his advice.” <h4>Representative Experience</h4><ul><li>Rothschild & Co. in connection with the sale of two asset management units to a subsidiary of Wintrust Financial Corporation.</li><li>A global wealth manager, in a negotiated acquisition of a diversified asset management and fund advisory business.</li><li>Brooklyn Investment Group, a tech-enabled wealth management firm, in connection with its sale to Nuveen, a global asset manager.</li><li>Burgundy Asset Management Ltd., a leading independent wealth manager, in connection with the U.S. aspects of its negotiated sale agreement to Bank of Montreal (BMO).</li><li>Focus Financial Partners, Inc. in its acquisition of the cross-border wealth advisory business of Cardinal Point Capital Management Inc. and Cardinal Point Wealth Management, LLC.</li><li>A multi billion dollar private equity sponsor in its structuring and initial RIA acquisition transaction.</li><li>Prime Quadrant Corp. in its acquisition of Beekman Wealth Advisory, LLC.</li><li>Hightower Advisors, LLC in connection with its acquisition and integration of various businesses with multi-billion dollar AUM businesses with complex client account, fund and ETF relationships.</li></ul>

Derek Steingarten

Co-Chair of Investment Management Group

Aaron Russ is an associate in the Washington, D.C. office and a member of the firm’s Investment Management Group and Securities + Derivatives Regulatory Solutions team. He draws from his experience at the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to advise clients on their regulatory, compliance, operational, and governance needs.He regularly advises private fund managers, wealth managers, innovative investment advisory fintech firms, and other registered investment advisers and exempt reporting advisers on the various regulatory and compliance issues that arise in connection with the operation of an advisory business, including compliance with the federal securities laws (Investment Advisers Act of 1940, the Investment Company Act of 1940, the Securities Act of 1933, and the Securities Exchange Act of 1934);<ul><li>drafting and negotiating advisory agreements and service provider agreements;</li><li>SEC registration issues, including structuring to rely on registration exemptions or comply with SEC guidance (e.g., avoiding integration issues and structuring participating affiliate arrangements);</li><li>preparing and updating regulatory filings (e.g., Form ADV, Form PF, and Form CRS);</li><li>drafting and updating compliance programs to address changes to regulations and the adviser’s business (e.g., offering new products and services, use of artificial intelligence) to promote compliance with federal securities laws;</li><li>counseling investment advisers in SEC examinations and other interactions with regulators;</li><li>advising on all aspects of investment adviser marketing and the offering of private funds (e.g., advising on marketing materials, responses to RFPs, compliance with the Securities Act offering exemptions, broker-dealer issues, and performance track record reporting);</li><li>counseling investment advisory firms on the regulatory aspects of M&A activity and related transactional issues; and</li><li>assisting private fund managers comply with various regulatory and compliance issues that arise in connection with the formation, offering, and operation of private funds (e.g., advising on offering materials, placement agent agreements, subscription agreements, and investment company status issues).</li></ul>Aaron previously served as senior counsel for the Division of Investment Management for the SEC. In his role as senior counsel, he drafted rule text and guidance for Commission rulemakings under the Investment Advisers Act, including the Marketing Rule. While at the SEC, he also worked in the Office of Compliance, Inspections, and Examinations (now known as the Division of Examinations), where he counseled SEC examiners on investment adviser and investment company examinations involving both private and registered funds, as well as broker-dealer examinations.Highly regarded for his deep knowledge of the Advisers Act Marketing Rule, Aaron frequently shares his insights through writing and speaking engagements with publications such as Practicing Law Institute (PLI), The Review of Securities & Commodities Regulation, and Strafford.Aaron earned his J.D., summa cum laude, from the University of Illinois College of Law. He also holds a dual B.A. in Economics and Political Science from the University of Michigan.

Aaron Russ

Associate

Shiri Shenhav is a partner in the Transactions Department and the Mergers + Acquisitions Group based in Palo Alto. Shiri maintains a corporate transactional practice focusing on mergers and acquisitions and equity investments in the technology industry for public and private companies.Shiri regularly assists strategic buyers and private equity funds and their portfolio companies in a variety of domestic and cross-border transactions, including deal structuring and mechanics, stock and asset purchases, mergers, divestitures, and spin-offs. Shiri also regularly represents companies with respect to their equity investments, joint ventures, and other strategic transactions, as well as general corporate counseling.As an accomplished attorney certified in California and in Israel, Shiri has extensive experience representing multinational corporations and funds in cross-border transactions involving Israeli aspects. Shiri also co-leads the firm’s AI M&A Initiative.Shiri is fluent in Hebrew.<h4 dir="ltr">Representative Experience</h4><ul dir="ltr"><li>SoftBank in connection with its acquisition of Berkshire Grey.</li><li>Vontier Corporation in its sale of Global Traffic Technologies to Miovision.</li><li>Walmart in its acquisitions of Art.com, Aspectiva, BareWeb, CareZone, Eloquii, MeMD, and Zeekit.</li><li>Zivelo in its acquisition by VeriFone.</li><li>Unity Technologies in its acquisition of RestAR.</li><li>Alpine Investors and its managed IT services and software platform Evergreen Services Group in connection with the acquisitions of Alliance Solutions Group, Global Wave Group, and Telco Experts.</li><li>Alpine Investors in its acquisition of Ethisphere. </li><li>Astroscale U.S., the U.S. unit of Astroscale Holdings, in its acquisition of certain the intellectual property and other assets and proposed hiring of certain members of the staff of Effective Space Solutions R&D. </li><li>Gryphon Investors and RegEd in the acquisition of ComplianceMAX and FIRE Continuing Education businesses from National Regulatory Services.</li><li>Mirantis in its acquisition of the Docker Enterprise platform business from Docker.</li><li>Rubicon Technology Partners in its strategic majority investment in the merger of EverTrue and ThankView.</li><li>Peer5 in its sale to Microsoft Corporation.</li><li dir="ltr">Protean Electric in its acquisition by National Electric Vehicle Sweden AB.</li></ul>

Shiri Shenhav

Partner

Val Dahiya is a partner in the firm’s Broker-Dealer Compliance + Regulation and Capital Markets practice groups, Co-Head of its Securities + Derivatives Regulatory Solutions team, and Co-Lead of the firm’s Digital Assets practice within the Fintech Group.Val advises financial services clients on complex compliance, regulatory, and transactional matters arising under U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) and Financial Institution Regulatory (FINRA) jurisdiction. She has nearly two decades of experience in advising on securities market infrastructure, including over 10 years of work history at the SEC and three years at FINRA.<h4 dir="ltr">Professional Experience: SEC and FINRA </h4>Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Val chaired the securities trading and markets practice and served as office managing partner at another international law firm. Before that, she served as the Washington, D.C. Branch Chief in the Office of Trading Practices in the Division of Trading and Markets at the SEC, where she provided analysis and recommendations on complex legal and policy issues related to the securities industry, including the application of Exchange Act rules and regulations to emerging areas such as cryptocurrencies and digital assets. Val’s counsel was essential in shaping SEC policies and ensuring their consistent application across the evolving financial landscape. Prior to this, Val’s responsibilities as Special Counsel in the Division of Trading and Markets included providing essential guidance on securities regulation compliance, including the Commission’s financial integrity and regulatory programs for broker-dealers and securities exchanges. Val also worked closely with the Divisions Office of Market Supervision reviewing self-regulatory organization (SRO) rule filings. In her capacity as Attorney/Senior Counsel in the Division of Examinations, Broker-Dealer Group, Val led comprehensive examinations and inspections of broker-dealers and dually registered entities, ensuring compliance with federal securities laws and SRO rules. Her responsibilities also extended to preparing enforcement referral memoranda and assisting the Enforcement Division in complex trading cases. While at the SEC, Val also worked extensively on issues related to trading practices, including market making, ETFs, direct market or sponsored access, when-issued securities, and trading in the grey markets.Prior to her tenure at the SEC, Val worked at FINRA (formerly NASD), where she conducted reviews and investigations of broker-dealer activities, identified violations of relevant regulations, and made disciplinary recommendations. Her work at FINRA involved analyzing trading activity for irregularities and patterns indicating violative conduct.Collectively, this experience informs Val’s counsel on the highly complex regulatory issues associated with broker-dealer, transfer agent, clearing agency, exchange and Alternative Trading System (ATS) operations, registration requirements, and compliance.<h4 dir="ltr">Capabilities</h4>Val also advises clients in the distributed ledger technology space that are seeking to understand the potential securities regulatory implications. Her practice ranges from product counseling all the way through to counseling on complex compliance and regulatory issues.Other areas Val is particularly well qualified to advise on include:<ul dir="ltr"><li dir="ltr">broker-dealer compliance issues relating to Regulations ATS, NMS, M, SCI, and SHO, as well Rules 15c2-11, 15c3-5, and 15c3-3;</li><li dir="ltr">Regulation BI and standard of care issues;</li><li dir="ltr">books-and-records requirements;</li><li dir="ltr">large trader and position reporting;</li><li dir="ltr">forex trading;</li><li dir="ltr">market access and other electronic trading issues;</li><li dir="ltr">information barriers and insider trading;</li><li dir="ltr">soft dollars and commission sharing arrangements;</li><li dir="ltr">the net capital and customer protection rules; and</li><li dir="ltr">cybersecurity and data protection issues.</li></ul><h4 dir="ltr">Leadership</h4>Val is a member of the Nasdaq Exchange Review Council for each of Nasdaq’s six exchanges. Prior to joining Morrison Foerster, Val served as office managing partner at another international law firm.

Val Dahiya

Co-Head of Securities + Derivatives Regulatory Solutions

Investment Management

Mergers + Acquisitions