US presidential elections are anxious times for the private equity industry. Four years ago, most of the potential candidates, including Donald Trump, had pledged to remove the generous tax treatment of private equity executives’ carried interest. Jeb Bush, who at one stage was the bookies’ favourite to win the Republican nomination, went further by promising to remove tax relief on corporate interest payments, threatening the cornerstone of the private equity model.

But the industry won a reprieve. Bush fell by the wayside and the victorious Trump dumped the promise as he embarked on a massive tax-cutting spree that sent financial shares through the roof.