Private opinions

In the world of private fund management, supporters of Donald Trump are keeping their preferences to themselves for fear of upsetting investors.

In the last US election cycle, employees at private fund firms overwhelmingly backed Republican presidential candidate and former private equity executive Mitt Romney. This was evidenced by their financial contributions; those at the top five PEI 300 firms (Blackstone, KKR, Warburg Pincus, Advent International and the Carlyle Group) contributed nearly $500,000 as of mid-September 2012 to Romney, according to data collected by opensecrets.org.

During the equivalent time frame this time around, Trump has collected a grand total of $64 from one employee from the same group of firms.

Most Clinton supporters pfm’s sister publication Private Equity International has spoken to say she symbolizes continuity and stability, which is good for private equity.

“There’s a track record on how she would behave,” a partner based in New York says. “Trump has spent his career in the private sector, so it’s less clear how he would govern.”

Not everyone has rallied to the Clinton camp; some remain conflicted. “I have not made up my mind,” says a managing director who specifies that he votes in a non-swing state. “Maybe I’ll vote libertarian. I’m still undecided. But I have not heard a lot of people openly supporting Trump.”

The same managing director adds that he has not heard a lot of people in the industry coming out in support of Trump. But that’s not to say he doesn’t have supporters in the private funds world.

A handful of high profile figures are in the Trump camp, including his longtime business partner and friend Tom Barrack, who founded Colony Capital; Wilbur Ross, who founded WL Ross & Co.; and Saul Fox, who founded Fox Paine. The latter recently held a $25,000-per-ticket fundraiser for Trump at his home in Silicon Valley.

In an interview with pfm’s sister publication PERE back in April, Barrack said his “enthusiasm for Donald is based on his ability to get things done, consolidate differing constituencies, and administer a multitude of complex business and regulatory issues with grace and ease as he adapts to changing situations.”

Most Trump supporters pfm has spoken to, however, would rather keep it quiet, mainly to avoid upsetting their investors. One partner at an East Coast-based firm asked not to be named in this article as a donor to the Trump campaign, despite the information being publicly available.

Meanwhile, two other partners at other private equity firms said they made up their minds a long time ago that they’re going to vote for Trump, but don’t want their limited partners to find out.

“My investors wouldn’t like that,” says one of them. “But I don’t like Hillary’s politics. I don’t like what she stands for socially. She’s not transparent.”

“I’m definitely the exception,” says the other partner. “I can’t have a rational discussion with my peers about the elections.” He recognizes and acknowledges that from a personal financial standpoint, Clinton would be a better candidate, but he says he’s seeking a major political and economic change for the nation.

“Private equity loves Hillary Clinton, because I and my peers have done tremendously well under Obama and Bush,” he says, adding that Clinton would perpetuate the status quo. “I’m voting against my self-interest in voting for Donald Trump, but it’s been a great run and it’s time to give back.”