Americans for Financial Reform

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Letters to Regulators: Follow Up Comment to the SEC on Private Funds

AFREF sent a Follow Up Comment to the Securities and Exchange Commission expressing support for its proposals that would require private fund advisers to provide their investors with greater and more detailed information around the fees, expenses, returns, and bilateral investment relations (via side letters). We echo many of the comments the SEC has since received since its initial comment period and reflect how current market conditions make the Commission’s proposals especially a priority given the variation in the reporting and valuation of private market assets.

Letters to Regulators: Comment to the SEC on SPACs

AFREF sent a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission expressing its support for its many proposals that would amend the definition of a “blank check company” to include the current and any future iterations of Special Purpose Acquisition Companies (SPACs). Such proposals would impose greater liability on many involved in the creation and distribution of SPACs and provide investors with greater transparency into the forward looking projections that the issuers of SPACs have been misleadingly overly optimistic with.

Letters to Congress: Letter Calling for Housing Investments in Revised Reconciliation Bill

AFR joined a letter calling on Congress to include historic, equity-minded housing investments in a revised budget reconciliation bill to narrow the racial wealth gap and increase fair and sustainable homeownership opportunities for communities of color.

Letters to Congress: Letter in Support of Housing Fairness Act and Downpayment Toward Equity Act

AFR joined a letter in support of the Housing Fairness Act and the Downpayment Toward Equity Act.

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Letters to Regulators: Letter to PCAOB in Response to Request for Comment on Interim Analysis of Estimates and Specialists Audit Requirements

AFREF and Public Citizen sent a letter to PCAOB in response to their request for comment on their Interim Analysis of Estimates and Specialists Audit Requirements.

Blog: Private Equity and The Care Economy

Having a rapacious business like private equity watching over particularly vulnerable people has never been a good idea. Still the evidence is mounting that Wall Street has pushed the envelope in recent years. Nursing homes, youth facilities, and homes for disabled adults have all fallen under the ownership of an industry with a track record of prioritizing wealth extraction over running companies well, to say nothing of caring for people in need.

Letters to Congress: Letter in Support of Downpayment Toward Equity Act

AFR joined a letter in support of the Downpayment Toward Equity Act, which provides substantial down payment assistance to first-time, first-generation homebuyers and helps close the historical racial and ethnic homeownership gaps in the United States.

In The News: Senators to Propose Industry-Friendly Cryptocurrency Bill

“This legislation would do quite a bit to undermine existing securities laws by creating an alternative route that could bypass the current, time-tested rules,” said Mark Hays, a senior policy analyst on fintech at Americans for Financial Reform, a progressive advocacy group. He added that the bill would create a new class of securities that lack the necessary investor protections.

News Release: New Cryptocurrency Bill a Giveaway to Industry in the Name of Innovation

Washington, DC – A bill introduced by Sens. Kirsten Gillibrand and Cynthia Lummis to revamp regulation of cryptocurrencies is little more than a giveaway to an industry that wraps itself in the mantle of innovation but poses serious risks to investors, consumers, and possibly even financial stability.

SEC Appoints AFR’s Andrew Park to Investor Advisory Committee

Washington, D.C. – The Securities and Exchange Commission has appointed Andrew Park, senior policy analyst at Americans for Financial Reform, to its Investor Advisory Committee, where he will serve a 4-year term providing expertise to the agency on a wide range of issues.