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Hence the mention of "individual". Blackrock, Vanguard etc. don't own the shares themselves, but rather manage mutual funds/index funds/ETFs that millions of pe
by paxys 10mo ago
Hence the mention of "individual". Blackrock, Vanguard etc. don't own the shares themselves, but rather manage mutual funds/index funds/ETFs that millions of people participate in.
Otherwise these few companies are the largest holders of basically every security in existence.
- andsoitis 10mo agoInterestingly, the US Govt. is also not "an individual human" and Softbank and Nvidia are both publicly traded companies. > Otherwise these few companies are the largest holders of basically every security in existence. Indeed. Due to inclusion of Intel in S&P500 index funds and ETFs. Together, institutional investors own over 50% of Intel Corporation, giving them a significant collective influence on major board decisions. https://finance.yahoo.com/news/67-institutional-ownership-intel-corporation-110201162.html https://finance.yahoo.com/news/67-institutional-ownership-in...
- paxys 10mo agoBig difference between the two. A company can own lots of things (assets, IP, real estate, share of other companies), but shareholders of the company don't own or have direct access to that thing. If Intel pays dividends, it will go to Nvidia, not you. If Intel holds a shareholder vote, Nvidia leadership will be the one voting, and they don't have to listen to your opinion. They can also change or sell the holding without your permission. If you own shares of Intel through a Vanguard fund, you do have actual ownership of Intel. You can cast a vote same as every other shareholder. The dividend they issue will be passed on to you. Vanguard is simply acting as a proxy.
- andsoitis 10mo agoDon’t disagree. I think the point I’m trying to make is that the idea of “individual investor” captures a range of attributes, but some of which are also shared by non-individuals or are not shared with “individual humans”. So I generally think wha is more useful is saying in what particular ways “individual investor” is meant when it is used in debate, decision-making, etc.
- hippo22 10mo agoI don’t think this isn’t true. If you buy VOO, you’re buying shares in a fund that owns shares of S&P 500 companies. The managers of that fund are free to exercise their voting rights however they please. The reason why Vanguard shouldn’t be considered an individual investor is because Vanguard has chosen to delegate its votes to the fund owners. This is just a choice, they could easily choose differently in the future.
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- hbarka 10mo ago> Interestingly, the US Govt. is also not "an individual human" The individual human called Citizens United is casting a side eye.
- zaphirplane 10mo agoCrap I always thought individual is a singular.
- didntknowyou 10mo agosplitting hairs at this point tbh
- mitthrowaway2 10mo agoWho controls the votes? I don't think most ETFs pass voting rights to their owners.
- fjert 10mo agoThe fund manager casts those votes. They publish how they vote under a "Proxy Voting Guidelines" document. At least I've seen such documents from Fidelity and Vanguard