Erik Setio

AREAS OF EXPERTISE

Funds Management; Financial Services Regulatory; Capital Raisings

AWARDS

• Lawyers Weekly, Partner of the Year Awards, New Partner of the Year (Big Law) – 3 Years or Less, Finalist 2024
• Legal 500, Asia Pacific Guide, Fintech and Financial Services Regulatory, Recommended Lawyer, 2023 to 2024
• Legal 500, Asia Pacific Guide, Fintech and Financial Services Regulatory, Ranked Firm – Tier 3, 2023 to 2024
• Chambers and Partners, Asia-Pacific Guide, Investment Funds, Ranked Firm – Band 4, 2024
• Chambers and Partners, Fintech Legal Guide, Ranked Firm – Band 2, 2023 to 2024
• Chambers and Partners, Asia-Pacific Guide, Financial Services Regulation, Ranked Firm – Band 4, 2023 to 2024
• Global PERE Awards, Deal of the Year (Asia), CIC’s purchase of Investa Property Trust, 2015
• ALB Australasian Law Awards, Insolvency and Restructuring Deal of the Year, Centro Restructure, 2012

QUALIFICATIONS

• Bachelor of Laws (LLB) and  Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.) Actuarial Studies – The University of New South Wales
• Admitted to practice in New South Wales

SELECTED REPRESENTATIONS

• Advised Birdwood Energy on AUD$2 Billion Distributed Energy Partnership with Aware Super.
• Advised the University of Newcastle, UTS, Macquarie University and WSU on joining the Uniseed Venture Fund.
• Assisted AI Carbon on its capital raise with investors Rio Tinto, Bentleys Carbon Fund and Japan Integrated Carbon Limited (a joint venture between Japan’s Mitsubishi Corporation and NYK Line) and also advised on the carbon financial services aspects.
• Assisted Scarcity Partners on their GP staking deals (including its recent stake in Evidentia Group).
• Advised Atlantis Fisheries Consulting Group on the design and launch of its flagship $150 million Australian Fisheries Investment Trust.
• Advised IOOF on aspects of its partnership with Invesco to manage over $23.1 billion in index investments.
• Advised AMP and UniSuper in relation to their investment in the $2 billion Brookfield Place Sydney (Wynyard) development.
• Advised Intertrust in its role in the set-up of an Australian feeder fund into a market leading premier real estate fund and the launch of Tanarra Credit Partners Asia-Pacific Fund II.
• Advised major financial services providers in relation to various regulatory reforms post the Royal Commission.
• Advised ANZ on aspects of the sale of its Wealth arm valued at $3.825 billion to IOOF and Zurich Insurance Group.
• Advised an international PE Fund through the various bidding stages within the NAB MLC auction (valued at $1.4 billion) and the corresponding due diligence process.
• Advised Partners Group in the establishment of an A$550 million listed investment trust, the Partners Group Global Income Fund.
• Advised Longlead Capital Partners on all aspect of the set-up of their Australian Longlead Pan-Asian Absolute Return Fund which serves as a feeder fund to their flagship Longlead Absolute Return Master Fund Ltd.
• Advised Barrenjoey on the application of multiple AFSLs for the largescale composite corporate advisory, broking, trading and financing businesses.
• Advised CIP on the licensing, structuring and establishment of the Australian trust, which was one of the ‘parallel funds’ comprising CI IV and has exposure to the Star of the South project.
• Advised New Forests relating to various licensing issues (including its involvement in Carbon Credit markets) and the set up of various trust structures with exposure to forestry assets.
• Advised various financial service providers (including Munich RE’s subsidiaries and Mitsui Sumitomo) in relation to its offering of weather derivatives (including licensing and disclosure issues).
• Advised Ontario Teachers in relation to the sale of 30% of its stake in both Bristol and Birmingham airports to NSW’s TCorp and Sunsuper.
• Acted as Australian legal counsel for Standard Life PLC in relation to its merger with Aberdeen Asset Management PLC which involved Australian wholly owned asset managers.
• Acted as Australian legal counsel for Marsh & McLennan in relation to its acquisition of Jardine Lloyd Thompson (which also involved a divestment of the global aerospace insurance broking business of Jardine to Arthur J. Gallagher & Co).
• Advised various wealth management businesses in relation to regulatory investigation by ASIC into instances “fee for no service” review and promotion of super products through bank branches.
• Advised Insignia Financial (via various internal IOOF and OnePath funds) to invest USD$100m in a diversified real estate fund based in the US.
• Acted in the establishment of ANZ’s Grow Wrap Platform (which is now owned by Insignia Financial).
• Advised aspects of CIC’s investment in Australian commercial property (worth over A$2 billion) via CIC’s acquisition of the Investa office tower portfolio.
• Advised AMP on the establishment of an Australian MIT and various sub-trusts to acquire an interest in the ‘Optus Centre’ at Macquarie Park.
• Advised AMP on the restructure of the JV between AMP Capital, Westfield and Westfield Retail Trust and establishing a separate vehicle for the ownership of the Macquarie Centre (Sydney), Pacific Fair Centre (Gold Coast) and Garden City (Perth).
• Advised on aspect of AMP Limited’s bid to acquire AXA Asia Pacific Holdings Limited’s Australian and NZ businesses (including advising AMP on issues relating to AXA’s joint venture arrangement with AllianceBernstein).
• Advised BlackRock Australia to successfully negotiate a novel prime brokerage arrangement (which included a derivatives component) and assisted in bringing the concept of a prime brokerage arrangement (which is seen predominantly in the US, UK and HK) to the Australian market.
• Advised Centro (CER) in relation to its restructure and recapitalisation process including the $5.4 billion complex reconstruction and merger of Centro Group’s Australian interest.  In addition, advised Centro on the sale of its entire US portfolio (worth $9.4 billion) to Blackstone.
• Advised the Trust Company on the Asciano corporatisation process in 2010 and the Asciano capital raising in 2009.