Fed up with fees

Price-gouging turns investors off to PE funds……................................................................................................................... The private-equity gravy train may be coming to an end. Private equity has long had a reputation for making money from fees even when their fund investors lose. A recent case in point: KKR, TPG and Goldman Sachs reportedly charged their company, Energy Future Holdings, $528 million in fees over the last five years while the utility veered toward bankruptcy. But the large public pension funds are forcing the funds to end this type of questionable gouging, sources tell The Post….. The manager of a large public pension’s private-equity program said for the last 24 months he has not committed money to any new private-equity fund that doesn’t give all fees it charges its companies back to investors. He is doing this because he wants an alignment of interest where he and the private-equity firm only make money by reselling a business. PE firms, he believes, will stop charging their companies fees if there is little in it for them….. So, KKR, for example — responding to pressure — has agreed to give all fees it charges its companies in its new fund back to investors, the pension manager said. KKR is not the only firm making this change…………………………………………………………………………………………More? Check out http://www.nypost.com/p/news/business/fed_up_with_fees_i8UmGgDiZon6iRBrWUQ31H