By Chris Prentice
NEW YORK (Reuters) – A leading U.S. lobby group for hedge funds and private credit firms on Thursday asked Donald Trump’s transition team to review “harmful” regulations for private funds and maintain “pro-growth tax policies,” according to a letter seen by Reuters . .
Wall Street lobby groups, chafing at Biden administration regulators, are preparing their wish lists for the US president’s new Republican administration, which has promised to relax regulations and cut taxes, Reuters reported last week.
On Thursday, the Managed Funds Association (MFA), which has sued the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) under Biden to review several new rules for private funds, called on the new Trump administration to review the agency’s agenda and recent regulations to review.
“Now is the time to turn the page on the current SEC agenda and abandon misguided policies that have harmed markets, investors and the economy,” MFA President and CEO Bryan Corbett wrote in the letter, which came before it was first reported by Reuters.
An SEC spokesperson said the agency’s reforms would “increase transparency and resilience in the private funds space.”
Biden administration regulators, led by the Treasury Department, have also been scrutinizing the systemic risks posed by nonbanks and private funds. Corbett called on policymakers to embrace alternative assets as drivers of economic growth.
“The diversification provided by private funds is critical to stabilizing financial markets and spreading risk,” Corbett wrote.
Turning to taxes, which Congress is likely to overhaul next year with Republicans controlling both chambers, Corbett said provisions encouraging long-term investment should be retained, especially the current treatment of carried interest as long-term capital gains.
