A group of pension funds and a trade group representing private equity fund investors are in talks to draw up a set of standards on how the industry should disclose fees and expenses.

The effort is an attempt to plug a hole that plagues the private equity industry: the lack of clear guidelines and industry consensus governing how managers should disclose fees. The Institutional Limited Partners Association is leading the push, and the largest US public pension fund, the California Public Employees' Retirement System, has joined in on the talks.