private equity Archives - Page 8 of 9 - Americans for Financial Reform

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.”

A pair of hands writing on paper with a pen

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.

Letters to Regulators: Letter to the SEC on Proposal to Modernize Shareholder Reports, Disclosures, and Fees

The Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund (AFREF) appreciates the opportunity to comment on the above referenced proposed rule (“the Proposal”) by the Securities and Exchange Commission (the “SEC” of the “Commission”) concerning the simplification and streamlining of the most useful information and fees to

Letter to Transition: SEC Needs Chair Committed to Corporate Accountability, Transparent Public Markets.

We urge you to nominate an SEC Chair who is committed to restoring corporate accountability and rebuilding robust, transparent public markets. Our country needs an SEC that will challenge powerful interests on Wall Street to better promote inclusive economic growth, while also protecting main street investors, pension plan participants, workers, and the communities in which we live.

News Release: New Study Documents Job Losses in Retail Due to Private Equity

Private equity pillaging of the retail industry has cost over half a million jobs amid over 18,000 store closures through February 2020, according to a new study, the first to examine job losses at the state level. The job losses occurred in every state, with more than 10,000 jobs lost in 20 states and more than 30,000 lost in California, Florida, and New York.

Wall Street sign and a stoplight turned red - Photo by Roberto Júnior on Unsplash

Statement: SEC Exams Show Private Fund Managers Overcharge Investors

The problems the SEC identified include fund managers’ failure to make full and fair disclosure of conflicts of interest, charging improper fees, and failure to implement policies to prevent staff from trading on material non-public information. In other words, the SEC’s examinations have shown that private equity and hedge fund managers are consistently engaged in self-dealing and overcharging investors, like pension funds that provide for the retirement security of millions of Americans.

Blog Post: Private Equity Profiteering from Incarceration, Tools of Police Brutality

Private equity firms often profit from mass incarceration and they expand inherently racists business practices in communities of color. Private equity is behind manufacturers of weapons used against people protesting police brutality against the Black community.