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Who financed the expansion of the equity market? Shareholder clienteles in Victorian Britain

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  • Graeme G. Acheson
  • Gareth Campbell
  • John D. Turner

Abstract

Who financed the great expansion of the Victorian equity market, and what attracted them to invest? Using data on 453 firm-years and over 172,000 shareholders, we find that the largest providers of capital were rentiers, men with no formal occupation who relied on investment income. We also see a substantial growth in women investors as time progressed. In terms of clientele effects, we find that rentiers invested in large firms, whilst businessmen were the venture capitalists of young, regional enterprises. Women and the middle classes preferred safe investments, whilst financiers and institutional investors were speculators in foreign companies. Our results may help to explain the growth of new types of assets catering for particular clienteles, and the development of managerial policies on dividends and share issues.

Suggested Citation

  • Graeme G. Acheson & Gareth Campbell & John D. Turner, 2017. "Who financed the expansion of the equity market? Shareholder clienteles in Victorian Britain," Business History, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 59(4), pages 607-637, May.
    • Handle: RePEc:taf:bushst:v:59:y:2017:i:4:p:607-637
    DOI: 10.1080/00076791.2016.1250744
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    Cited by:

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    8. Acheson, Graeme G. & Campbell, Gareth & Gallagher, Áine & Turner, John D., 2018. "Independent women: Shareholders in the age of the suffragettes," QUCEH Working Paper Series 2018-09, Queen's University Belfast, Queen's University Centre for Economic History.
    9. Shima Amini & Steven Toms, 2021. "Elite directors, London finance, and British overseas expansion: Victorian railway networks, 1860–1900," Economic History Review, Economic History Society, vol. 74(2), pages 496-521, May.
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    More about this item

    JEL classification:

    • G10 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - General (includes Measurement and Data)
    • N23 - Economic History - - Financial Markets and Institutions - - - Europe: Pre-1913

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