The Rise of Asset Manager Capitalism

While Berle’s model of the corporation lives on in policymaking and corporate governance discourse, the ownership structure of the corporation and investment landscape have profoundly transformed in the half century since Berle’s death. Institutions managing money on behalf of others—like index fundsindex funds, mutual funds, pension funds, and hedge funds—have come to replace individuals and households as the holders of the substantial majority of corporate equities in the United States.