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Inconspicuousness and obfuscation: how large shareholders dynamically manipulate output and information for trading purposes

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  • Bart Taub

    (University of Glasgow)

Abstract

I model a large shareholder who can affect firm fundamentals. I demonstrate that the large shareholder amplifies the component of his private information that is unforecastable by uninformed traders and thus alters the fundamental value of the firm to facilitate his trading profits: he obfuscates. I then construct a continuous time dynamic version of the model using Fourier transform methods. In the dynamic model, the large shareholder does not just simply amplify the unforecastable part of the fundamental: he also alters its stochastic structure. The model thus marries market microstructure with real resource allocation. There are two consequences: (i) the large shareholder induces the fundamental value of the firm to more closely mimic the noise traders, and (ii) market liquidity is reduced.

Suggested Citation

  • Bart Taub, 2018. "Inconspicuousness and obfuscation: how large shareholders dynamically manipulate output and information for trading purposes," Annals of Finance, Springer, vol. 14(4), pages 429-464, November.
    • Handle: RePEc:kap:annfin:v:14:y:2018:i:4:d:10.1007_s10436-018-0334-3
    DOI: 10.1007/s10436-018-0334-3
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    References listed on IDEAS

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    Cited by:

    1. Abdelsalam, Omneya & Chantziaras, Antonios & Batten, Jonathan A. & Aysan, Ahmet Faruk, 2021. "Major shareholders’ trust and market risk: Substituting weak institutions with trust," Journal of Corporate Finance, Elsevier, vol. 66(C).
    2. Bart Taub, 2019. "Economic and financial modeling techniques in the frequency domain," Economic Theory Bulletin, Springer;Society for the Advancement of Economic Theory (SAET), vol. 7(1), pages 1-17, May.

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    More about this item

    Keywords

    Large shareholder; Liquidity; Dynamic obfuscation; Continuous time stochastic control; Frequency domain; Fourier transform methods; Spectral factorization;
    All these keywords.

    JEL classification:

    • C61 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Mathematical Methods; Programming Models; Mathematical and Simulation Modeling - - - Optimization Techniques; Programming Models; Dynamic Analysis
    • C73 - Mathematical and Quantitative Methods - - Game Theory and Bargaining Theory - - - Stochastic and Dynamic Games; Evolutionary Games
    • G11 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Portfolio Choice; Investment Decisions
    • G12 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Asset Pricing; Trading Volume; Bond Interest Rates
    • G14 - Financial Economics - - General Financial Markets - - - Information and Market Efficiency; Event Studies; Insider Trading
    • G32 - Financial Economics - - Corporate Finance and Governance - - - Financing Policy; Financial Risk and Risk Management; Capital and Ownership Structure; Value of Firms; Goodwill

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