Tag Archives: private equity
News Release: SEC Must Step Up Enforcement of Rules on Private Funds
The Securities and Exchange Commission should use the full scope of its authority to increase transparency and reduce hidden risks to investors and markets from the private equity industry, according to a letter from 15 public interest groups.
Letters to the Regulators: AFREF Letter to the SEC On Addressing Private Equity’s Abuses
AFREF alongside 14 other signers submitted a letter to the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) raising several abuses from the private equity industry and ways the Commission can directly address them
In the News: Private equity’s terrible impact on New Jersey’s nursing homes (The Star-Ledger)
“As COVID-19 swept through New Jersey’s nursing homes, residents and workers got sick and died, families struggled to get basic information about their loved ones, and caregivers were rightly terrified that they would bring the virus back to their own families. What few realized is how a secret Wall Street takeover of much of the long-term care industry has amplified the health risks to those who live and work in nursing homes” according to AFR Senior Researcher Patrick Woodall and 1199SEIU Executive Vice President Milly Silva.
Letter to the Regulators: letter from 26 organizations to the Department of Labor urging reconsideration of guidance allowing retirement plans to invest in Private Equity
26 organizations, led by the Consumer Federation of America urge reconsideration of the DOL policy allowing defined contribution plans to invest in private equity funds. Issues raised to the DOL over its original letter considering allowing such funds into private equity include: It fails to give
Letter to Regulators: Letter to the IRS and Treasury on Tackling Systemic Tax Abuses by the Private Equity Industry
The 18 organizations urge the Internal Revenue Service (IRS) to prioritize rebuilding its auditing and enforcement capabilities in order to tackle systemic tax abuses, including in particular those by the private equity industry. The private equity industry has generated greater untaxed revenues over the past decades by structuring their funds to avoid taxes and through a strategy of misclassifying certain earnings, exploiting tax loopholes like carried interest, and utilizing complex and opaque business structures to shield earnings from IRS scrutiny. We applaud President Biden’s plans to fund the IRS and tax enforcement more robustly and believe that these needed changes are a strong argument for such additional resources.
Letter: Pension Funds Should Decline Blackstone Investments, Urge End to Political Contributions
Blackstone CEO Stephen A. Schwarzman’s ongoing refusal to firmly break with former President Donald Trump in spite of Trump’s role inciting the insurrection exposes investors to unacceptable levels of reputational risk. Schwarzman personally donated $3 million to a PAC supporting Trump’s 2020 campaign, money earned from fees and expenses paid for by your pension fund and the working people whose retirement savings you are responsible for investing.
News Release: AFT Sounds Alarm over Private Equity, Urges Trustees with $3 Trillion under Management to Examine Investments
The American Federation of Teachers is advising its pension trustees with more than $3 trillion under management to review their private equity investments after a new report exposed the diminished returns and structural risks associated with the industry.
Paper: Lifting the Curtain on Private Equity
In partnership with The American Federation of Teachers, AFREF released a paper entitled “Lifting the Curtain on Private Equity: A Guide for Institutional Investors and Policymakers.”
Letters to Congress: Letter Urging Congress to Address Risks in Growing SPAC Mania
AFR wrote a letter to Congress providing a number of policy recommendations that would help reign in SPAC mania and better protect investors.