Non-Bank Institutional Investorss Ownership in Non-Financial Companies Listed in Major European Countries

Abstract

This study analyses the factors influencing institutional ownership in the largest non-financial companies listed in five major European countries from 2010 to 2015. Consistently with previous empirical literature, both country-level and firm-level variables result to be relevant. As for country variables, economic activity and the efficiency of the legal system turn out to be significant. As for firm variables, depending on the specification adopted and beyond market and financial indicators, institutional presence is positively associated with proxies of good quality of corporate governance, namely smaller board size and higher presence of independent directors. The paper adds to the existing literature by providing up-to-date empirical evidence from the European framework. This in turn may be relevant on policy grounds, as the understanding of the drivers of institutional holdings has become increasingly important after the latest financial crisis, marking reduced corporate access to bank credit and triggering European projects such as the Capital Markets Union.