Ownership structure, board characteristics and investors

Purpose and goal

The purpose of the research project is to test a number of specific hypotheses related to the Swedish capital market and then mainly the stock market. An important sub-project is to investigate whether the liquidity of a share is related to the size of the number of outstanding shares and its "free float". A second study focuses on companies with share dividends that can be said to be sustainable. The composition of company boards with regard to size, gender, and shareholdings will be analyzed, as will the effects of institutional ownership in Swedish listed companies.

Expected effects and result

With access to unique data that reflects shareholding in Swedish companies, as well as access to detailed data that shows the composition of the board, a number of specific questions can be answered. For example, is the size of a company´s effective free float related to the liquidity of the stock ?; does the number of board members have any direct impact on the company´s value and does the composition, with regard to gender, play a role ?. By studying the size of institutional ownership but also new shareholders, new knowledge of trading activities is expected to be obtained.

Planned approach and implementation

The project will begin with literature studies regarding the specific areas that will be addressed. As a common platform for the project is access to data, resources will initially be added so that the data is updated, validated and coordinated in accordance with the wishes of participating researchers. An important part of the project is that additions must be made regarding the identification of foreign board members´ involvement in Swedish companies, as detailed data for these people is limited. Collection and updating of data from the Swedish Tax Agency is initiated.