Common Ownership and Antitrust: Eight Critical Points to Guide Antitrust Policy

Abstract

This article presents eight critical points that can aid the ongoing and early development of antitrust policy relating to common ownership. These points touch on some of the most salient issues concerning the relationship between common ownership and competitive harm and have important implications on how regulators should craft antitrust policy as it relates to common ownership. The article’s eight points collectively show that rather than per se prohibitions, safe harbors, or wide-scale investigations, regulators should evaluate the competitive effects of common ownership on a case-by-case basis, just as they currently evaluate other potential sources of competitive harm.

Keywords: Antitrust, Common Ownership, Institutional Investors, Competition

JEL Classification: K21, G23, L40, L13, D43