Working for themselves? Capital market intermediaries and present day capitalism

Abstract

This article uses earlier debates on managerial capitalism to set up and explore questions about the role and possible effects of fee-earning capital market intermediaries in present day capitalism. The question then becomes whether a new group of actors (the capital market intermediaries) have taken a new leading role in the economy, in part by constraining the discretionary power of an old group of actors, the salaried corporate managers. A broader analysis of the new group of intermediaries makes two key points: first, business models in activities such as investment banking, corporate law and private equity all generate substantial rewards for senior intermediaries; second, the different agendas of these different groups have the net effect of encouraging an economy of permanent restructuring. The conclusion highlights differences between the managerial revolution and the rise of new intermediaries, while noting the role of this new group in an economy of permanent restructuring.