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????幾十年來，私募基金一直在從它們投資的公司那里收取“交易費”，這筆費用通常和并購或者首發上市有關。有時它們和投資者分享收益，有時它們將報酬據為己有。這項費用低則數萬美元，高則數千萬美元。無論怎樣，私募基金總能實現正回報，減少投資失誤帶來的損失。 ????但今年4月份，美國證監會（SEC）律師大衛?布拉斯威脅要打破私募基金的鍍金如意算盤。大衛表示，應該要求收取交易費的私募基金公司注冊為券商，而不僅僅是投資顧問。簡而言之，他的做法就是以其人之道還治其人之身：如果私募基金取代外部投資銀行來收取交易費，那就意味著私募基金承擔了投行的工作。因此從監管角度出發，私募基金就應該和投行列為同類機構。 ????布拉斯這番話在私募基金界引起了軒然大波。注冊為券商后將出現很高的合規成本，由此帶來的深度監管也會讓私募基金公司很不自在。 ????我們不知道的是，在布拉斯做出此番表態之前，已有私募基金從業者向美國證監會提出了舉報，內容和布拉斯隨后的公開發言一致。前兩天，《克萊恩商業周刊》（Crain's New York）首先報道了這次舉報事件，但只將舉報者描述為“資深私募基金業內人士”。報道還指出，舉報者的要求是最多獲得SEC罰款所得收入的30%。 ????周一早上，我和舉報者的律師喬丹?托馬斯進行了接觸。托馬斯曾在美國證監會供職，現在是Labaton Sucharow律師事務所合伙人。他告訴我，他的客戶確實是一位私募基金高管（“而不是服務供應商”），這位客戶所在的公司并不知道其身份。托馬斯還說，舉報明確提到了幾家公司，但他拒絕透露具體是哪幾家。 ????托馬斯表示，總的來說，他對收取交易費是否合適并無個人意見。但他顯然相信，私募基金公司在尚未注冊為券商的情況下收取費用違反了證券法。考慮到私募基金公司掌握的資金規模——更不用說收購交易中的買方資金了——他認為加強監管是恰當的做法。 |
????For decades, private equity funds have collected "transaction fees" from their portfolio companies, often related to mergers or initial public offerings. Sometimes they share with their investors, sometimes they don't. Sometimes the fees are for tens of thousands of dollars, sometimes for tens of millions. Either way, the practice gooses positive returns and lowers the losses from lousy ones. ????Back in April, however, an SEC attorney named David Blass threatened to upset the gold-plated apple cart. He gave a speech arguing that private equity firms receiving transaction fees should be required to register as broker-dealers, rather than simply as investment advisors. In short, he used private equity's own justification against it: If private equity charges transaction fees in lieu of hiring an outside investment bank, then that would mean that private equity is doing the work of an investment bank and should be similarly categorized for regulatory purposes. ????Blass's comments sent shock waves throughout private equity. Complying with broker-dealer registration is costly, and opens up a depth of regulatory scrutiny to which private equity is unaccustomed. ????What we didn't know at the time was that Blass's speech came after the SEC had received a whistleblower complaint from someone within the private equity industry, privately alleging what Blass would soon discuss publicly. The complaint was first reported yesterday by Crain's New York, which only identified the whistleblower as a "senior private equity insider," and added that he or she stands to collect up to 30% of any related proceeds from SEC penalties. ????Earlier this morning I spoke with the whistleblower's attorney Jordan Thomas, a former SEC official and current partner with Labaton Sucharow. He tells me that his client is indeed a senior private equity exec ("not a service provider") and that his or her firm is unaware of his client's identity. Thomas adds that the complaint specifically names several firms, although he declined to name them. ????Thomas says that he has no personal opinion on the appropriateness of transaction fees in general, but clearly believes that private equity firms have been violating securities laws by charging them without first registering as broker-dealers. And given how much money private equity firms are managing – not to mention those on the other sides of buyout deals – he believes greater oversight is appropriate. |
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