KEY FEATURES OF THE QUASI-CORPORATE NATURE OF THE BIG THREE AND ITS JOINT SYSTEMIC ACTIVITIES
Abstract
The article presents the results of a study of the quasi-corporate nature of the Big Three (BlackRock, Vanguard, State Street) and its implementation through joint systemic activities. The relevance of the problem is substantiated by the transformation of corporate control from traditional ownership to institutional management of economic power through the mechanisms of passive ownership, proxy voting, and asset stewardship. Based on a review of current publications by domestic and foreign authors, the theoretical and methodological foundations for further analysis are identified. The goal is to identify the signs of quasi-corporate behavior of the Big Three and show their implementation through joint systemic activities. The presentation of the results summarizes the empirical facts: (1) the presence of cross-ownership and the leading role of institutional investors in the ownership structure (in particular, BlackRock), which strengthens the coordination of management decisions; (2) dominance in asset management: the total AUM of the Big Three in 2021–2025 ranged from $19.6 to $28.52 trillion, with the top positions retained in most S&P 500 companies; (3) leadership in the ETF market with a combined share of 74.3% at the end of 2024 (BlackRock 30.1%; Vanguard 29.4%; State Street 14.8%); (4) broad presence in the US banking sector across all asset size groups and among leading global investment banks, confirming the Big Three's collective influence on the financial system; (5) significant participation in the world's largest custodian banks (BNY Mellon, State Street, JPMorgan, Citigroup, Northern Trust) and (6) influence on the rating, indexing, and mass media infrastructure (S&P Global, Dow Jones, Moody's, etc.), which shapes assessment standards and information frameworks for investors. It is concluded that the combination of these facts indicates the quasi-corporate form of the Big Three's organization and the resulting long-term joint systemic activity in most segments of the global economy, which ensures its ability to coherently influence the direction of investment capital flows and the corresponding coordinated decisions of the Big Three.
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