HEDGE FUND CRACKDOWN FACES PUSHBACK FROM A PECULIAR CORNER: “Everyone knew that Wall Street would fight SEC Chair Gary Gensler’s bid to crack down on private equity powerhouses and hedge funds,” our Sam Sutton writes. “Few predicted the backlash from the investors Gensler is trying to protect.” — “Growing dissension among public retirement systems and institutional investors that have lobbied Washington for years to drop the hammer on the $20 trillion private fund industry has undercut Gensler’s bid to enact sweeping reforms.” — “The new rule proposal, which could be finalized in the coming weeks, would require greater disclosure from firms of the lucrative fees and expenses they charge to the fund, force managers to disclose the sweetheart deals they cut with large investors, and potentially expose top executives to litigation.” — But some investors, even as they agree on the need for updated regulations, aren’t in lockstep on the best approach. “Even the Institutional Limited Partners Association, a Washington-based investor group that has championed Gensler’s proposal, is urging the agency to pare back proposed changes that could limit how its members — known as LPs — invest in high-performing private equity and hedge fund strategies.” — Meanwhile, the discord “stands in contrast to that of the private funds industry itself, which has deployed resources in an aggressive outreach campaign on the Hill and at the agency in a bid to rein in the SEC’s proposed rules, which were first offered last year.” LOT SIXTEEN LAUNCHES A TRADE PRACTICE: Former Hill trade expert Nasim Fussell has left Holland & Knight, where she was a partner, to launch a trade practice at Lot Sixteen. Fussell joined Holland & Knight in 2020 after serving as the chief international trade counsel for Republicans on the Senate Finance Committee. Before that she worked as an in-house lobbyist at Pitney Bowes and General Motors and as trade counsel for the Ways and Means Committee. — “We’re finding our clients are increasingly in need of expert advice on tax and trade policy issues, especially as the clean energy transition really accelerates,” Lot Sixteen Vice President Natalie Cucchiara told PI of the decision to formally stand up a trade practice. TWITTER’S POLITICAL AD REVIVAL HITS MORE BUMPS: “Elon Musk took over Twitter last fall with a pledge of transparency for the social media giant — but so far political advertising on the platform has been anything but forthcoming,” POLITICO’s Jessica Piper found. — “Twitter has failed to disclose some political ads running on its site since early March, according to a review of its activity by POLITICO. At least three promoted fundraising tweets were not included in Twitter’s own data, seemingly contradicting the company’s policies and raising doubts about the integrity of the platform’s data and how many other political ads could go unreported.” — “The lack of disclosure casts doubt on all of the political advertising data released by the platform and makes it hard to assess which groups are using Twitter to fundraise or sway voters ahead of 2024. It also highlights the hodgepodge of voluntary transparency efforts that experts say falls short when it comes to informing voters about who is trying to influence them online.” DEPT. OF ODD BEDFELLOWS: Environmental activists and the trade group representing chemical cleaners are putting their differences aside to push for boosting funding for the EPA. The Environmental Working Group and the Household & Commercial Products Association have launched Partnership for the Future of EPA to push for additional resources for the agency in an uncommon call by the regulated community to strengthen its regulators. — HCPA represents manufacturers of cleaning, disinfecting and home maintenance products, including 3M, Clorox, Kimberly-Clark Corporation, Microban, SC Johnson, Reckitt Benckiser, ScottsMiracle-Gro, Procter & Gamble, FMC Corporation, Chemours, Bath & Body Works, Dupont and Eastman Chemical. — The trade group’s partnership with EWG will focus on educating lawmakers about EPA’s work, as well as its organizational needs, in order to bolster support for the oft-politicized and chronically underfunded agency. “It’s impossible for the EPA to do its work without the appropriate funding and resources to address business critical functions, staff training, and working through process improvements,” HCPA President and CEO Steve Caldeira said in a statement.
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