Does the research meeting affect the shareholding ratio of institutional investors in listed companies? Empirical evidence from China

Purpose: This paper discusses whether institutional investors change the shareholding ratio of listed companies through research meeting, and whether this active investment mode can really improve the investment efficiency of institutional investors. Design/methodology/approach: Using empirical research method, this study designs and conducts an empirical research according to empirical research's basic norms. Thus, we acquire needed and credible empirical data. This study analyzes whether institutional investors seek their private interest in researched companies by analyzing their research meetings and the shareholding ratios of different types of institutional investors using Shenzhen Stock Exchange data on listed firms from 2014 to 2018. Findings: This study finds that the research meetings of institutional investors provide participants with reliable information which supports the decision of institutional investors to change their shareholding ratio. The stock price growth rate strengthens the positive correlation between the research meetings of institutional investors and the shareholding ratio of institutional investors. Additionally, transactional institutional investors increase the shareholding ratio, while holding institutional investors do not. Originality/value: This paper combines the behavior of institutional investors with the holding status of institutional investors, and discusses the impact of institutional investors' behavior on investment decisions. At the same time, it classifies the institutional investors and discusses the attitude of different types of institutional investors towards this active investment mode.