North America top for domestic ownership

North American investors are more likely to invest in home companies than investors in Europe or Asia, according to data from the most recent IR Magazine Global Investor Relations Practice Report.

A 9 percentage-point increase between 2013 and 2014 means that 88 percent of shareholders in North American firms came from within the region last year. Conversely, domestic investment from European funds dropped 10 percentage points over the same period, with two thirds of shareholders in European firms coming from within the continent.

Asian firms also saw a drop in the proportion of shareholders from their home region, with a 6 percentage point fall to 52 percent – the lowest of the three regions studied. After domestic shareholders, North American funds represent the largest stake in both European and Asian firms’ investor bases.

Globally, 60 percent of investors are based in North America, 28 percent in Europe and just 7 percent in Asia, with other regions making up the remaining 5 percent.

Looking at the type of investors, institutional shareholding continues to dominate globally as well as across each region.

This year, IR Magazine also looked at how market capitalization affects the shareholder base. While institutional investors make up the majority across each cap size, small caps see a low of 55 percent.

And while in relatively low proportion across the board, both state ownership and investment from sovereign wealth funds increase marginally as companies grow in market capitalization. Individual share ownership hovers around the global average of 17 percent at companies in the mid-cap to mega-cap range, but accounts for 28 percent in small-cap companies. The reverse is true when it comes to founder ownership, which hits a low of 5 percent at mega-cap companies.

Download the IR Magazine Global Investor Relations Practice Report 2014 for more information on investor events, IR team sizes, salaries, and more.