Under their thumbs

Everyone, it seems, has something to say about private equity these days. But the words of a handful of people carry more weight than the rest of the commentators combined. For this special issue of PEI Manager focused on regulatory and compliance issues, we have attempted to identify and present profiles on the regulators who matter most.
Debates over the taxation of carried interest have reached the top political realms in the industry’s two biggest markets, the US and UK. It is interesting to note that the positions taken by politicians and regulators in these markets do not fall neatly along party lines. In the US Congress, we have a Republican as the chief proponent of an increase on carried interest tax, while a Democrat may prove to be the power behind an end to that bill.
Outside the US and UK, fundamental issues are more pressing. Hong Kong wants to regulate all alternative investment funds, but still be attractive for foreign managers to set up shop there. Foreign is also the key word for China, where regulators are promulgating stiffer rules against foreign investors who want to buy assets in the mainland.
Over the next five pages are the 10 regulators PEI Manager has identified as having the authority or the influence to push through change that can affect the private equity industry, globally. Four of these protagonists are the in the US, two are in the UK, one covers Europe, one in France, and two in China. Two out of the ten are women. And last, but not least, other regulators who didn’t quite make our main list, but are equally as important.

Ten regulators who matter 

Charles Grassley
Senator
United States

Chuck Schumer
Senator
United States

Barney Frank
Member, House of Representatives
United States

Christopher Cox
Chairman, Securities and Exchange Commission
United States

Alistair Darling
Chancellor of the Exchequer
United Kingdom

Hector Sants
CEO, Financial Services Authority
United Kingdom

Charlie McCreevy
Commissioner of Internal Market and Services
European Commission

 
Christine Lagarde
Minister of Finance
France

Alexa Lam
Executive Director,
Securities and Futures Commission
Hong Kong

Bo Xilai
Minister of Commerce
China

Wanching Leong also contributed to this article