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Interestingly, the US Govt. is also not "an individual human" and Softbank and Nvidia are both publicly traded companies. > Otherwise these few companies are t

Interestingly, 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 11mo ago
Big 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 11mo ago
  Don’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 11mo ago
  I 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 11mo ago
> Interestingly, the US Govt. is also not "an individual human" The individual human called Citizens United is casting a side eye.
- zaphirplane 11mo ago
  Crap I always thought individual is a singular.
didntknowyou 11mo ago
splitting hairs at this point tbh

paxys 11mo ago

Big 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 11mo ago
Don’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 11mo ago
I 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 11mo ago

> Interestingly, the US Govt. is also not "an individual human" The individual human called Citizens United is casting a side eye.

zaphirplane 11mo ago
Crap I always thought individual is a singular.

didntknowyou 11mo ago

splitting hairs at this point tbh