The global proportion of company shares held by retail investors is 14 percent. Institutional investors hold more than four times this number, with almost six in 10 shares being held by financial institutions.
European companies have the lowest proportion of shares held by retail investors and the largest institutional to individual shareholder ratio, with institutions holding nearly five times as many European shares as do retail investors.
North American companies have a higher proportion of shares held by both individual and institutional investors than the global norm. On the other hand, Asian companies, while having more