It’s been just over 400 years since a Dutch company became the first organisation to sell shares and became publicly traded. By 2007, more than one billion people owned a stake in the world’s companies worth more than $75 trillion.
Kevin Kaiser, INSEAD Affiliate Professor of Finance, says that’s a dramatic change from the days when monarchs and dictators owned everything and used their country’s resources for their good alone. Now, we own the companies as shareholders and Kaiser says that has a number of consequences. “One of the key themes is integrity,” he says. As consumers, we demand that these companies work for us, always providing better products and services at cheaper prices. We want safer, more reliable, more feature-rich products and services, and we have the tools to help us get the best deal available. Read more..
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