Nicole M. Runyan, P.C.

Partner Investment Funds

New York +1 212 446 4774

Nicole M. Runyan, P.C.

Overview

Nicole has rare expertise in alternative products and an incredible commercial understanding of the issues facing her clients. She offers practicable and actionable advice. - Chambers USA, 2025

Nicole M. Runyan is an investment funds partner in the New York office of Kirkland & Ellis LLP, and heads the Firm’s registered funds practice. Nicole has over two decades of experience advising clients on the formation, registration, operation and oversight of nearly every type of registered fund as well as business development companies (BDCs) and other non-investment company retail vehicles.

Nicole has a broad background representing mutual funds, ETFs, listed closed-end funds and other traditional registered funds investing across a variety of asset classes and strategies, including: public and private equities; private credit, structured credit, asset-based/backed lending and other income-producing strategies; and real estate and infrastructure assets.

She also commits significant time to counseling clients on the design and offering of alternative investment products, such as BDCs; REITs; interval funds and tender offer funds; and holding company and other 1934 Act reporting vehicles, which offer access for retail and high net worth investors to a variety of traditional “private market” asset classes, such as private credit, private equity and infrastructure, including on a primary, secondary, direct or co-investment basis, both in control and non-control arrangements.

Additionally, Nicole advises clients on the full range of issues facing retail funds, including regulatory and compliance matters, SEC exemptive relief applications, seed capital and other funding transactions, financing arrangements, and extraordinary events such as restructurings, acquisitions and activist matters.

Clients value Nicole’s practice advice and experience. Chambers USA reports that clients say she is “very knowledgeable, business-minded and a great partner to have in your corner” and is “a rock-star and extremely good at cutting through difficult-to-understand concepts.”

Nicole’s representative clients include Adams Street Partners, Alger, Apollo, Ares, Bain Capital, BDT & MSD Partners, Blue Owl, Cliffwater, Coatue, Crescent Capital, Fortress, Macquarie, Neuberger Berman and Vista Equity Partners.

Prior to joining Kirkland, Nicole was the Co-Chair of the Registered Funds practice at Proskauer Rose LLP, where she also served as a member of the Evaluation Committee and the Hiring Committee for the New York office.

More

Thought Leadership

Seminars

Speaker, “Product Development for Retail Funds”, Kirkland Webinar Series: Retail Products, June 2025

Moderator, “Expanding Your Capital Pool: Strategic Approaches to Tap Retail Investors,” With Intelligence’s Women’s Private Equity Summit, March 2025

Panelist, “Retailization of the Private Markets,” Investment Company Institute Investment Management Conference, March 2025

Moderator, “The Rise of Private BDCs: How It’s Reshaping the Hunt for Dollars,” With Intelligence’s Women’s Private Credit Summit, June 2024

Panelist, “Unlocking New Pools of Liquidity: Attracting Retail and HNW Investors Into Private Equity,” SuperReturn North America, November 2023

Panelist, “Vying for Retail Dollars: What Does It Take To Successfully Raise Capital From Individual Investors?,” Women's Private Capital Summit 2023, November 2023

Panelist, “Alternative Investments,” IDC Fund Directors Conference, October 2023

Speaker, “Current Market Opportunity Key Considerations When Forming a Retail Fund Structuring Options,” Kirkland Webinar Series: Unlocking the Retail Market, October 2023

Speaker, “Beyond Private Funds: Introduction to Registered Fund Products,” Kirkland & Ellis 2022 Registered Adviser Seminar & CCO Summit, November 2022

Moderator, “Making Private Markets Accessible to the Retail Investor,” Women's Private Capital Summit, November 17, 2022

Panelist, “An In-Depth Review of Unlisted Closed-End Funds,” Investment Company Institute Closed-End Fund Conference, November 17, 2022

Publications

Co-Author, “Retail Real Estate Vehicles: Recent Developments,” PREA Quarterly, Spring 2024

Co-Author, “SEC Adopts Amendments to Expand the Scope of the ‘Names Rule,’” Kirkland Alert, October 3, 2023

Co-Author, “SEC Proposes Reworking Mutual Fund Liquidity Framework, including Mandating Swing Pricing,” Kirkland Alert, December 13, 2022

Co-Author, “SEC Adopts Amendments to Streamline Shareholder Reports and Update Advertising Rules for Investment Companies,” Kirkland Alert, November 21, 2022

Co-Author, “SEC Proposes Pair of Long-Awaited ESG Rules; Non-ESG Funds Swept Up as Well,” Kirkland Alert, June 3, 2022

Recognition

Chambers USA, Nationwide: Investment Funds: Registered Funds, 2018–2025

Chambers Global, USA: Investment Funds: Registered Funds, 2020–2022 & 2024–2025

The Legal 500 United States, Mutual/Registered Funds/Exchange-Traded Funds, 2018–2022 & 2024–2025 

New York Super Lawyers “Rising Stars,” 2012–2017

Memberships & Affiliations

The Association of the Bar of the City of New York, Investment Management Regulation Committee (2018–2022)

The American Bar Association

Executive Board Member, Women's Investment Management Forum

Credentials

Admissions & Qualifications

  • New York

Education

  • Boston University School of LawJ.D.cum laude
  • Wake Forest UniversityB.A.cum laude