Buckeye Institute Analysis Reveals How Over-Regulation of Investment Managers will Harm Ohioans

Key Takeaways

1. The Short Sale Transparency and Market Fairness Act will threaten investment returns and add to market volatility.
2. This act raises costs without delivering benefits, making institutional investing more expensive.
3. Taxpayers will be forced to make up the difference in lower returns for pensions, retirees, nonprofits, and universities.

Restricting short selling and financial instruments utilized by hedge funds will only harm working Ohioans, who will see smaller returns on their investments. Ohioans that rely on pensions, university endowments, foundations and nonprofits will be in jeopardy, since those organizations invest directly in hedge funds. Key excerpts can be found below, and the full policy primer was published by the Buckeye Institute.

“Ohioans have $50 billion invested with financial institutions that would be impacted by these proposed inefficient rules, and all of them—from retirees to charities to schools and universities— could see smaller returns on their investments if this legislation is adopted by Congress and signed into law,” said Rea S. Hederman Jr., executive director of the Economic Research Center and vice president of policy at The Buckeye Institute, and author of the policy brief.

“The unintended consequences of this misguided bill will ripple through the markets—with lower investment returns for pensions, retirees, non-profits, and universities—ultimately forcing taxpayers to make up the difference. Investors and taxpayers in Ohio and every other state deserve better.”