We ask why we observe multiple layers of decision-making in fund management with investors, sponsors, fund managers, and consultants, even if additional decision-makers are costly and do not contribute to superior performance. In our model, an investor hires a wealth manager (“sponsor”), who...

We develop a dual-layered agency model to study blockholder monitoring by activist funds that compete for investor flow. Competition for flow affects the manner in which activist funds govern as blockholders. In particular, funds inflate short-term performance by increasing payouts financed by...

Optimal risk sharing in financial markets requires investors with high risk-bearing capacity to hold relatively large stakes. But holding large stakes might incentivize such investors to expend resources in monitoring the firm, a public good. Does this dissuade them from acquiring large stakes?...