In this work, we study the strategies driving cross-border sovereign wealth fund (SWF) investments worldwide. In particular, we investigate how SWFs internationalize their activities, studying whether the use of investment vehicles as signal of passive investment approach to access foreign...

We study the role of institutional investors in cross-border mergers and acquisitions (M&As). We find that foreign institutional ownership is positively associated with the intensity of cross-border M&A activity worldwide. Foreign institutional ownership increases the probability that a merger...

Using a shock in the expansion of the Norwegian Government Pension Fund Global (GPFG), we examine the long-term organizational consequences of sovereign wealth fund (SWF) investments. Findings from a difference-in-differences test show that firms improve in firm value following the inclusion to...

This study investigates the role of foreign institutional investors (FIIs) in restraining earnings management activities of firms under varying levels of investor protection. Firms manage their earnings less when independent FIIs are among their shareholders, especially when monitoring is more...

This paper describes the ownership structure in listed companies around the world. By using data for 10 000 largest listed companies, that together make up 90% of the global market capitalisation, we provide a description and comparison of the ownership structure of listed companies in 54...

This study investigates whether the stewardship code mitigates the free-rider problem of institutional investors. We construct panel data of listed firms in 56 countries and examine the effects of the introduction of stewardship codes in 13 countries using a difference-in-differences approach....

Questions and debate surround institutional investor preferences regarding the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) profiles of their portfolio firms. To address these issues, we examine changes in their portfolios and find that preferences for corporate ESG depend critically on investor...

We show that corporate governance practices vary predictably across different types of blockholders. Nonfinancial blockholders are six times as likely to self-identify as active shareholders relative to financial blockholders. Textual analysis of regulatory filings reveals that nonfinancial...

Shareholder activism has sharply increased over the past decade and spread both across countries and among different types of investors. Today, 50% of all engagements occur outside North America, with non-hedge fund investors accounting for one-third of all engagements. We investigate the...