Sound economic policy appropriately crafted and scrutinized allows the free market to do what it does best: provide a wide range of opportunities for all Americans, regardless of status, wealth, or background.
Unfortunately, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC), led by Chairman Gary Gensler, has laid out a sweeping and harmful regulatory agenda that would diminish the economic prospects of those benefiting from investments in private funds, such as working families and everyday Americans. It’s a classic example of regulators overstepping executive authority and creating incredibly burdensome rules and red tape that, in the end, unfairly creates winners and losers.
There’s no need for government to expand its role in capital markets, which are already well-regulated and well-functioning. American investors will end up paying the price for this haphazard excursion, while entrenched corporate interests will again come out on top.
Equally troublesome is the hurried process the Commission is following to enact these needless rules.
The SEC has enacted shockingly short public comment periods, the time in which regular American investors can weigh in on the proposed rules. Gensler’s 30-day comment periods defy historical precedent. They are deliberately too short for industry experts and the public to digest dense and complicated regulations that are hundreds of pages long. Rules created without adequate industry feedback are inherently unbalanced at best and discriminatory at worst.
And who exactly stands to lose the most if Washington bureaucrats get their way? The millions of Americans who rely on investments made by hedge funds, private equity, and venture capital through institutional investors such as public pensions, educational endowments, and nonprofit charitable foundations.
These essential investors have seasoned professionals that invest in these asset classes to help support many in the Hispanic community and beyond. And make no mistake, the SEC’s proposed actions will tangibly hurt all undeserved communities. It will let down the working-class families who rely on investments with venture capital, private equity, and hedge funds to build a secure retirement, access higher education through scholarships, and better themselves in their communities.
All of that is potentially at risk if the SEC’s current regulatory agenda is enacted.
The SEC should think twice before moving forward with regulations that make investments more expensive for investors working to create economic growth and opportunity. It has become clear that Chairman Gensler is more focused on pursuing a political agenda than protecting the average American and their financial interests.
