Aislamiento de transcritos alternativos del gen Gls

The previous chapter states that it is worthwhile for companies to communicate information to the capital market as stock prices regularly react to this information under the premise of nearly semi-strong information efficiency. As a next step, it is necessary to look at the actors on capital markets which are the receivers of the disclosed information and to point out their information needs. The presented actors receive information about the value based performance measures.

On capital markets actors can be roughly divided into four groups: Private investors, institutional investors, financial intermediaries and debt capital providers.506 _{Illustration six gives an overview of the classification.}

505 _{Cf. Banzhaf, J. (2006), pp. 135-137.}

506 _{Cf. extensively for a description of actors on capital markets Fabozzi, F. J.} (2015), pp. 63-106; the categorization of capital market participants bases on the classification of Ernst, E., Gassen, J., Pellens, B. (2009), pp. 26-27; Kirchhoff, K. R., Piwinger, M. (2014), pp. 1086-1088; Wassermann, H. (2011), pp. 46-55.

In the style of: Ruf, M. (2014), p. 104

Illustration 6: Actors on Capital Markets507

Private investors are individual persons who invest their own money.508 _The group of private investors is the largest group by absolute numbers. Each private investor possesses only low financial resources in comparison to family owners, financial intermediaries or institutional investors. As this group is homogenous, it is difficult and expensive for companies to communicate with them.509 Nevertheless, it is worthwhile to attempt such communication as the financial resources are enormous in total.510 _{Private investors play an important role} because they hold many shares of Western European companies. Beside households a further important investor group are families which control firms. In several cases family owned companies are not listed at the stock market.511

507 _{Cf. for possible capital market participants also American Institute of} Certified Public Accountants (AICPA) (1994), pp. 8-9; Thomsen, S., Pedersen, T. (2000), p. 692.

508 _{Cf. Ruf, M. (2014), pp. 105-106.} 509 _{Cf. Gantzhorn, A. (2016), p. 140.}

510 _{Cf. Kirchhoff, K. R., Piwinger, M. (2014), p. 1086.} 511 _{Cf. Faccio, M., Lang, L. H. P. (2002), pp. 366-367.}

In comparison to institutional investors private investors decide on little available information. Due to the Internet the discrepancy between these two investor groups is reduced.512 _{Private investors have on average the lowest level} of expertise.513 _{Nevertheless, there are also private investors who have a broad} knowledge base.514 _{Due to their limited time and knowledge to evaluate} companies and their stock comprehensively, private investors often use the services offered by financial intermediaries.515

A further sub group of private investors beside households are family owners whose primary interest is to ensure the survival of the firm.516 _{This is in} contrast to the main objectives of institutional investors whose objectives are Shareholder Value maximisation and liquidity.517 _{Family ownership is often} linked with a long-term commitment of the family to the company as they take simultaneously the roles of owners and managers.518 _{Often family companies} have a risk-averse attitude as the family’s wealth may be invested in the company.519

Institutional investors are juristic persons and invest on behalf of their clients.520 _{In contrast to the private investor group institutional investors are} focused on financial performance.521 _{They are professional investors and have a} high level of expertise.522 _{In contrast to private investors they are a very small} group in numbers but have access to huge financial resources.523 _{Their importance}

512 _{Cf. Ruf, M. (2014), pp. 105-106.} 513 _{Cf. Gantzhorn, A. (2016), p. 140.} 514 _{Cf. Wassermann, H. (2011), p. 54.}

515 _{Cf. Huchzermeier, M. (2006), p. 73; Zülch, H., Benary, C.-E., Hottmann, J.} (2016), pp. 1509-1515. 516 _{Cf. Fiss, P. C., Zajac, E. J. (2004), p. 508.} 517 _{Cf. Thomsen, S., Pedersen, T. (2000), p. 693.} 518 _{Cf. Thomsen, S., Pedersen, T. (2000), p. 693.} 519 _{Cf. Pedersen, T., Thomsen, S. (2003), p. 34.} 520 _{Cf. Ruf, M. (2014), pp. 106-107.}

521 _{Cf. Pedersen, T., Thomsen, S. (2003), p. 35; Thomsen, S., Pedersen, T. (2000),} p. 694.

522 _{Cf. Huchzermeier, M. (2006), p. 78; Shu, T. (2013), p. 696.}

has risen throughout recent decades.524 _{Typical institutional investors are} insurance companies, pension funds or investment funds.525 _{Also sovereign} Wealth Funds belong to this group. These are investment funds which are owned by states. They manage funds from state sources of income. Examples are Norway’s Government Pension Fund or Saudi Arabia’s SAMA Foreign Holdings.526

The group of institutional investors can be roughly divided into two subgroups: On the one hand independent investors, like mutual funds and on the other hand so-called grey institutions like bank trusts or insurance companies which have a connection / business relationship with the company in which they invest. Thus, independent institutional investors monitor firm’s activities and also influence the management. Grey institutions cannot act in the same way as they might negatively impact the business relationship with these companies.527

Independent institutional investors try to maximise the Shareholder Value. It is not a surprise that several empirical studies confirm that their presence increases firm value and performance.528 _{The consequent orientation to the} Shareholder Value approach is based on their clients’ expectations of constant profits. The pressure to succeed leads to regular changes in their portfolio in contrast to private investors.529 _{The profit demands of their clients lead to} comprehensive research before final investment decisions. Due to large financial resources and influence this investor group is at the centre of the Investor

524 _{Cf. Chen, X., Harford, J., Li, K. (2007), p. 280; Davis, G. F. (2008), pp. 11-21;} Ferreira, M. A., Matos, P. (2008), p. 499; Johnson, R. A., Schnatterly, K., Johnson, S. G., et al. (2010), pp. 1590-1591; Kirchhoff, K. R., Piwinger, M. (2014), p. 1087; cf. extensively for a description of the development of the influence of institutional investors in the USA Davis, G. F. (2008).

525 _{Cf. Bassen, A. (2002), pp. 14-16; Fabozzi, F. J. (2015), pp. 66-71; Zülch, H.,} Benary, C.-E., Hottmann, J. (2016), pp. 1509-1515.

526 _{Cf. Fabozzi, F. J. (2015), pp. 73-75.}

527 _{Cf. Ferreira, M. A., Matos, P. (2008), pp. 500-501.}

528 _{Cf. Cornett, M. M., Marcus, A. J., Saunders, A., et al. (2007), p. 1772-1773;} Ferreira, M. A., Matos, P. (2008), pp. 500-501, Hartzell, J., Sun, L., Titman, S. (2014), pp. 66-68.

Relations activities of a company.530 _{Although Institutional Investors are} considered as one group within the context of this dissertation, the objectives and interests are not homogenous within this group. Concerning information needs this group is quite homogenous and definable in contrast to the other groups.531

After the financial crisis the financial community and the public expect that institutional investors monitor carefully the managers of companies in which they invest. This development increases the importance of their research and consequently the importance of their information needs for companies.532

Financial intermediaries are not directly active on the capital market but they play an important role as they analyse the company’s performance and economic development on capital markets and communicate it to investors.533 Examples for financial intermediaries are analysts, economic journalists or rating agencies.534 _{Especially for investors with low expertise this group is important.} Financial intermediaries often influence the investment decisions of private investors.535 _{So, financial intermediaries have an opinion-forming function for} private investors.536

Financial analysts have the task to collect and analyse information about a firm, develop a forecast about their future earnings and give other capital market participants a recommendation to buy, hold or sell the company’s shares.537 _They are specialised in certain industries and concentrate on a few companies in order to get detailed knowledge about these companies.538 _{Due to their contact with} managers, their know-how and experience they have advantages in analysing

530 _{Cf. Ruf, M. (2014), pp. 106-107; cf. Ruf, M. (2014) p. 105 for a comparison of} attributes of private and institutional investors.

531 _{Cf. Fochler, R. (2000), pp. 323-325.}

532 _{Cf. Callen, J. L., Fang, X. (2013); pp. 3047-3048; Mallin, C. (2012), p. 177.} 533 _{Cf. Franco, G. de, Hope, O.-K., Vyas, D., et al. (2015), p. 76.}

534 _{Cf. Ruf, M. (2014), p. 104.}

535 _{Cf. Kirchhoff, K. R., Piwinger, M. (2014), p. 1087.}

536 _{Cf. Achleitner, A.-K., Bassen, A., Pietzsch, L., et al. (2002), p. 29;} Huchzermeier, M. (2006), p. 73.

537 _{Cf. Erkilet, G., Kholmy, K. (2016), pp. 38-39; Healy, P. M., Palepu, K. G.} (2001), p. 416; Kahlenberg, M. (2009), p. 492.

information in comparison to investors.539 _{In a semi-efficient capital market the} task of analysts would be senseless as the stock price already includes all available information. In reality the information distribution of analysts increases the information efficiency of capital markets.540 _{The Internet enables investors} access to information. Due to the huge amount of available information analysts remain still necessary.541 _{It is important from an investor’s point of view that} analysts conduct their information analysis independently. Analysts face a trade- off between the competition for clients and their reputation. In order to avoid this conflict of interest, many institutional investors engage their own analysts.542 Nevertheless, there is a risk that the forecasts of financial analysts can be biased.543 Economic journalists publish their articles in newspapers, specialised economic journals or via the Internet. Through these communication channels their assessments are circulated widely. Especially private investors are interested in their reports.544 _{Journalists often reinforce the assessment of analysts by} processing them in their publications. Hereby, the analyst’s assessment is spread to more recipients. The information process is reciprocal between analysts and journalists as analysts take information out of publications for their work.545

Rating agencies are a further group which does not actively act on capital markets. Their task is to evaluate the creditworthiness of companies.546 _{The three} largest rating agencies are Moody’s Investors Service, Standard & Poor’s Ratings Group and Fitch Ratings.547 _{Considering the insights of Principal Agent Theory,} information asymmetries are reduced because the rating is made public. For companies a good rating is essential. Investment funds often invest only in companies which have a certain level of rating.548

539 _{Cf. Wichels, D. (2002), pp. 28-29.} 540 _{Cf. Wichels, D. (2002), pp. 29-30.} 541 _{Cf. Wichels, D. (2002), p. 30.} 542 _{Cf. Wichels, D. (2002), p. 35.}

543 _{Cf. Dechow, P., Ge, W., Schrand, C. (2010), pp. 389-390.} 544 _{Cf. Huchzermeier, M. (2006), pp. 75-76.}

545 _{Cf. Ruf, M. (2014), pp. 109-110.} 546 _{Cf. Nye, R. P. (2014), p. 4.} 547 _{Cf. Nye, R. P. (2014), p. 4.}

Two points of criticism arise concerning the role of rating agencies: Firstly, the influence of the issuer on ratings. Companies instruct as well as pay rating agencies. There may be conflicts of interests and the rating loses objectivity.549 Secondly, capital market participants might overestimate the ratings. This can lead to the situation that investors do not conduct their own analysis.550

The function of credit rating agencies is also evaluated critically due to past events. For example, the agencies gave Enron or WorldCom a high rating just a few days before their insolvency.551 _{Their role during the subprime mortgage} crisis also gives rise to doubts about their market function.552

Debt capital providers553 _{have a contractually fixed claim and receive their} interest payments independently from the economic performance of the company. Therefore it is in their interest that the company remains able to compensate the interest payments.554 _{Due to this interest they also have} information needs concerning a company’s performance. But in contrast to equity capital providers, their focus is on liquidity and past performance rather than increase of Shareholder Value and prospective development.555

The presented illustration of capital market actors is simplified. A further actor, not considered, is the government of a country which can also heavily influence capital market events. Governments regulate financial markets, among other things, by setting disclosure rules for companies which force them to give certain information to their investors. They can also take the role of a financial

549 _{Cf. Bühren, C., Pleßner, M. (2015), pp. 324-325.} 550 _{Cf. Fabozzi, F. J. (2015), pp. 95-97.}

551 _{Cf. Fabozzi, F. J. (2015), pp. 95-97.}

552 _{Cf. Baghai, R. P., Servaes, H., Tamayo, A. (2014), pp. 1961-1962; Lugo, S.,} Croce, A., Faff, R. (2015), p. 1703.

553 _{Debt capital providers are also capital market actors when they purchase} bonds on capital markets. From an economic perspective they are investors, from a legal perspective they are creditors, cf. Böcking, H.-J. (1998), p. 21.

554 _{Cf. Bieg, H., Kußmaul, H., Waschbusch, G. (2016), p. 148; Metten, M. (2010),} pp. 17-18.

intermediary by providing loans or liquidity to industries which are in a critical economic situation or influence their monetary policy via the central bank.556

The government as owner does not prioritise Shareholder Value maximisation as a primary goal, rather political goals like low output prices or employment are more important.557 _{For purposes of this dissertation, a} concentration on the named four groups of actors is sufficient as these groups are the main receivers of a company’s Investor Relation activities and therefore also the receivers of communicated value based performance measures.558