Private equity executives need to “share the wealth” they create with workers at the companies they buy, according to the investment head of Calstrs, the giant US pension fund that is one of the world’s biggest investors in the sector. The comments from Christopher Ailman, outgoing investment chief at the $327bn fund, come after a decade of rapid growth in the buyout industry in which many dealmakers have made large fortunes from the hefty fees they have charged investors such as Calstrs.
“We go directly to our general partners to have conversations, we just haven’t done that in the press,” he said. Some private equity managers have taken steps to ensure that employees at companies they own can share in the profits, if the firm performs well. New York-based buyout group KKR says that billions of dollars in equity have been shared between more than 60,000 employees at its portfolio companies since 2011.