One Investor Is The Largest Owner Of Two-Thirds Of U.S. Companies (2024)

Want to know who owns Corporate America? It's not Bill Gates or Elon Musk. It's Vanguard.

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Thanks to the surging popularity of its index funds, Vanguard is now the No. 1 owner of 330 stocks in the S&P 500, or two-thirds of the world's most important collection of stocks, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith. No other investor comes remotely close. BlackRock (BLK) is a remote second-top owner, ranking as the No. 1 investor in just 38 S&P 500 companies.

This fact underscores just how powerful the ETF and mutual fund powerhouse has become in markets. Its inflow of funds from investors stand to sway markets miles beyond most other forces.

"BlackRock plus Vanguard consistently take in about 64% of all the cash which is in line with their (asset under management) market share, said Eric Balchunas, ETF senior analyst at Bloomberg. "(And there's) no slowing down the duopoly despite the onslaught of competition from some pretty massive companies."

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Vanguard And The Dwarfs

It's hard to understate just how much of a force Vanguard is in markets. The ETF market shows its dominance the most clearly.

So far this year, investors poured $124.3 billion into Vanguard ETFs, or more than a third of the total, Balchunas says. BlackRock is second with inflows of just $89.6 billion, or 27%. And that's just in ETFs. Keep in mind Vanguard is also the largest provider of mutual funds.

All told Vanguard controls total assets of $4.6 trillion, or 26.4% of the fund family universe, Morningstar says. That's No. 1 by far. Fidelity is a distant No. 2 in terms of total fund assets at $2.3 trillion, or 12.9% of the total.

Vanguard's dominance is putting it into an extreme position of power at many S&P 500 companies.

Where Vanguard Places Its Biggest Bets

Thanks to Vanguard's massive asset base, it's the voice that matters most among investors. And it holds huge sway in the real-estate sector. All 10 of the companies Vanguard holds the largest positions in are in the real estate sector.

The fund company owns 15% or larger stakes of more than 20 companies in the S&P 500. Its very top position based on the percentage of company owned is real estate firm CBRE Group (CBRE). Vanguard owns nearly 17% of the company. BlackRock is the No. 2 holder with 10.2% of the company. The stock, this year, though hasn't worked out all that well for Vanguard. Shares of the company are down 20% this year.

CBRE, though, is a classic type of stock institutions like. It's in the relatively stable commercial real estate business. The company's profit is expected to rise every year from 2022 through 2026. This year, profit is seen rising more than 8% to $6.29 a share. Analysts rate the stock an outperform. They think the stock will be worth 100.63 a share in 12 months, or nearly 16% more than it is now.

Vanguard is also the biggest wheel at Extra Space Storage (EXR). The fund company owns 16.7% of the real estate firm. It's also an institutional style company like CBRE. The Salt Lake City real estate company runs nearly 2,000 self-storage centers in 40 U.S. states. It's a steady-as-it-goes business, too. Profit is seen rising every year from 2022 through 2025. And the stock is holding up better than many. It's down just 6.8% on the year and yields 2.9%.

Is Vanguard always right? Not even close. But when the market has a participant of this size, you need to pay attention to it.

S&P 500 Companies Vanguard Owns The Most Of

CompanySymbolVanguard's % ownedStock YTD % ch.Sector
CBRE Group (CBRE)16.9%-19.7%Real Estate
Extra Space Storage (EXR)16.7-6.7Real Estate
Iron Mountain (IRM)16.63.1Real Estate
Mid-America Apartment Communities (MAA)16.4-18.2Real Estate
Essex Property Trust (ESS)16.3-15.8Real Estate
AvalonBay Communities (AVB)16.3-13.6Real Estate
Weyerhaeuser (WY)16.3-10.5Real Estate
Host Hotels & Resorts (HST)16.312.0Real Estate
Ventas (VTR)16.32.4Real Estate
SBA Communications (SBAC)16.3-10.1Real Estate
Sources: IBD, S&P Global Market Intelligence
Follow Matt Krantz on Twitter @mattkrantz

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One Investor Is The Largest Owner Of Two-Thirds Of U.S. Companies (2024)

FAQs

One Investor Is The Largest Owner Of Two-Thirds Of U.S. Companies? ›

It's Vanguard. Thanks to the surging popularity of its index funds, Vanguard is now the No. 1 owner of 330 stocks in the S&P 500, or two-thirds of the world's most important collection of stocks, says an Investor's Business Daily analysis of data from S&P Global Market Intelligence and MarketSmith.

Who owns most of the stocks in the US? ›

The richest Americans own the vast majority of the US stock market, according to Fed data. The top 10% of Americans held 93% of all stocks, the highest level ever recorded. Meanwhile, the bottom 50% of Americans held just 1% of all stocks in the third quarter of 2023.

Who are the biggest owners of corporate America? ›

The three largest index fund managers—BlackRock, Inc. (“BlackRock”); State Street Global Advisors, a division of State Street Corporation (“SSGA”); and the Vanguard Group (“Vanguard”)—collectively known as the “Big Three,” own an increasingly large proportion of American public companies.

Who is the number 1 investor? ›

Warren Buffett is widely considered the greatest investor in the world. Born in 1930 in Omaha, Nebraska, Buffett began investing at a young age and became the chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway, one of the world's largest and most successful investment firms.

Who owns most of the companies in America? ›

One of either Blackrock, Vanguard, or State Street is the largest shareholder in 88% of S&P 500 companies. They are the three largest owners of most DOW 30 companies. Overall, institutional investors (which may offer both active and passive funds) own 80% of all stock in the S&P 500.

Who owns 80% of stock? ›

The share of equities held by people who are at or near retirement age (55+) has climbed to about 80%, up from 60% two decades ago, according to an analysis of Federal Reserve data by Rosenberg Research.

Who is the richest investor in the USA? ›

1. Warren Buffett: Warren Buffett is the CEO and chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, and he is one of the Top 10 Richest Investors in the World. His success can be seen through his unique strategies and approaches to investing.

Who is America's most famous investor? ›

1. Warren Buffett. Warren Buffett, CEO & Chairman of Berkshire Hathaway, is one of history's most successful investors, consistently ranking first among US global investors.

Who are the big three investors? ›

Within the world of corporate governance, there has hardly been a more important recent development than the rise of the 'Big Three' asset managers—Vanguard, State Street Global Advisors, and BlackRock.

Who owns most of the US economy? ›

Private companies have always dominated the US economy. Of the 33 million businesses in the US, more than 99 percent are privately held.

Who is the largest shareholder of the company? ›

A majority shareholder is often the founder of the company. In the case of long-established businesses, the majority shareholder may also be the descendants of the founder.

Who is bigger, BlackRock or Vanguard? ›

Vanguard is the world's second-largest investment company or brokerage firm, offering a range of active and passive options, as well as a competitive fee structure and other attractive selling points. BlackRock, Inc. is the world's largest investment firm and asset manager.

Who is the biggest investor? ›

Warren Buffett is often considered the world's best investor of modern times.

Is Elon Musk an investor? ›

In 2004, Musk became an early investor in electric vehicle manufacturer Tesla Motors, Inc. (later Tesla, Inc.). He became the company's chairman and product architect, assuming the position of CEO in 2008.

Who is the richest personal investor? ›

93-year-old Warren Buffett heads the list. The chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway has a net worth of $128.7 billion. Buffett's Berkshire Hathaway portfolio is 62% invested in only three stocks: Apple (42.9%), Bank of America (10.2%) and American Express (9.1%).

Who controls the US stock market? ›

The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) oversees securities exchanges, securities brokers and dealers, investment advisors, and mutual funds in an effort to promote fair dealing, the disclosure of important market information, and to prevent fraud.

What percentage of US stocks are owned by foreigners? ›

Foreigners and Rich Americans. Our new analysis shows that foreign investors owned about 40 percent of US corporate equity in 2019, up substantially over the last few decades.

Who is the No 1 stock broker in us? ›

While there are many brokerage houses in the U.S., the largest are Charles Schwab, Fidelity, JP Morgan, and Vanguard. These are huge asset managers with millions of customers investing trillions of dollars. Charles Schwab.

Who is the stock market king of America? ›

Warren Edward Buffett (/ˈbʌfɪt/ BUF-it; born August 30, 1930) is an American businessman, investor, and philanthropist who currently serves as the co-founder, chairman and CEO of Berkshire Hathaway.

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