AIC Statement on President Biden’s Address to Joint Session of Congress: We Have a Shared Goal to Rebuild the Economy, Help American Families
WASHINGTON, D.C. — The American Investment Council has released a statement ahead of President Joe Biden’s address to Congress on shared goals around economic recovery and COVID-19 response, as well as investment in small businesses and local communities.
In 2020 alone, the private equity industry invested over $561 billion in over 4,300 companies across all sectors — and private equity’s strong record of investment will continue as the industry helps rebuild America’s economy. This year, private equity firms also invested heavily in fields that contributed to the COVID-19 response, supporting the development of a robust antibody test, processing of COVID-19 tests, and the development of COVID-19 vaccines and treatments.
Drew Maloney, President & CEO of the American Investment Council has released the following statement:
“We share the Administration’s goal of rebuilding the economy, accelerating the COVID-19 recovery, and spurring job creation for families across our country. Private investment supported Main Street businesses, millions of jobs, and innovation throughout the pandemic, including record setting investments in the renewable industry over the last year. Instead of moving forward with tax increases that discourage investment in small businesses, workers, and innovation, the Administration and Congress should deliver policies that will put more private investment to work for families across the country.”
The private equity industry has had a positive impact on several key sectors and areas, including:
- Renewable Energy: Last year, private equity invested nearly $24 billion dollars in renewable energy companies — a four-fold increase over 2019. To put this in context, in 2020, the total renewable investment spend was $55 billion. So private equity provided half of all renewable investment in America.
- Health Care: In 2020, private equity fueled almost $80 billion into 735 health care companies. In addition to investing in the COVID-19 response, private equity firms invested in pharmaceutical trials (e.g., Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s) and increased investment in urgent care centers to expand health care access and COVID-19 resources in rural communities.
- Small Businesses: Private equity is committed to supporting small businesses and American jobs, even when times are tough. Throughout the pandemic, private equity continued to invest in all sectors, all across the country. In 2020, 71 percent of private equity deals were valued below $100 million, demonstrating the industry’s focus on small and medium-sized businesses.
- Pensions: Private equity investments are consistently the best-returning asset class for pension funds over the long term – delivering returns of over 13.7 percent – and supporting the retirements of schoolteachers, first-responders, and other dedicated public servants.
