Did J.P. Morgan's Men Add Value? A Historical Perspective on Financial Capitalism

The pre-WWI period saw the heyday of “financial capitalism”—the dominance of investment bankers in their dealings with firm managers—in the United States. This form of organization had costs: it created conflicts of interest that investment bankers could exploit for their own profit. It also had benefits: investment banker representation on boards allowed bankers to quickly replace managers whose performance was unsatisfactory and signal to ultimate investors that a company was well managed and sound. In 1911–12 the presence on one’s board of directors of a partner in J.P. Morgan and Co. added about 30 percent to common stock equity value, and about 15 percent to the total market value of the firm. Sat, Aug 12, 1995 1 J. Bradford De Long DID J. P. MORGAN’S MEN ADD VALUE? An Economist’s Perspective on Financial Capitalism J. Bradford De Long1