Blockholders Diversity : Effect of Polyphony on the Power of Monitoring

Majority of U.S. companies have multiple blockholders which could differ in their characteristics and skills even within one company. Diversity among blockholders within a given firm arguably has a positive and synergistic impact on the firm's value. Alternatively, conflicting objectives and interests may cause diversity to adversely impact company operations. To investigate the impact of blockholder diversity on company value, I construct diversity measures reflecting blockholder heterogeneity in the categories of identity, portfolio size, and investment horizon. To identify the causality channel, I use shocks from blockholder acquisitions of financial firms, as well as unexpected increases in payouts they receive from other positions: I consequently find that block diversity has a significant negative influence on company value and operations. Additional tests indicate a potential explanation for this negative effect of diversity in a lack of agreement among the blockholders regarding the firm's future direction