Another area of divergence is in the relationship
between the firm and its equity investors.
As noted above, institutional investors have
become the key owners in both countries over
the past two decades. The percentage of the US
equity market owned by institutional investors
rose from 35 per cent to 58 per cent from 1981
to 2002 (Binay, 2005, 128), and the comparable
percentage in the UK increased from 42.4 per
cent in 1963 to 84.7 per cent in 2004 (ONS, 2005).