The Deleveraging of U . S . Firms and Institutional Investors ’ Role ∗ JILLIAN GRENNAN Duke
نویسندگان
چکیده
U.S. corporate leverage has decreased markedly since 1992. We find greater institutional ownership explains this deleveraging trend. Without institutions’ influence, total leverage would be eight percentage points higher today. Detection of this relationship was elusive since researchers often combine all years and institutions. Yet legal barriers to institutional activism persisted until 1992. And while hedge funds may advocate for more debt, other institutional investors drive the deleveraging. We find active institutions with longer investment horizons drive the deleveraging. Their desire for change balances short-term gains with long-term financial distress. Supporting this conclusion, we find high-leverage and high-distress firms deleverage more, and they offset debt reductions with other agency-reducing incentives (i.e., covenants and dividends). JEL classification: G3, G32, G34, G38, K22, E44
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