Are Ownership Structures Risk- & Wealth-Constrained?

Abstract

The paper considers the owners of the firms as normal investors who want to optimise the return from their investments in accordance with their wealth constraint and the risk of their investment in the firm. The paper tests this theory on a representative sample of Danish companies including small firms. Concerning the wealth constraint for owners, the study finds evidence of more dispersed ownership in larger and more capital-demanding firms. According to the investors risk aspect, firms operating on foreign markets are more likely to have more than one owner. Concerning the domestic markets the owner structure is more dispersed in industries with a volatile business cycle.corporate governance; ownership structures