Since 2008, a massive shift has occurred from active towards passive investment strategies. The passive index fund industry is dominated by BlackRock, Vanguard, and State Street, which we call the ‘Big Three'. We comprehensively map the ownership of the Big Three in the United States and find...

The rise of passive investing is leading to a new reality of horizontal ownership in combination with a reconcentration of corporate control, notably at the Big Three passive asset managers BlackRock, State Street and Vanguard. We introduce the concept of mandate ownership and point to a process...