Several forces are converging to reshape global capital markets in the coming decade and to reduce the role of listed equities. The most important of these is the rapid shift of wealth to emerging markets where private investors typically put less than 15 percent of their money into equities (compared to 30–40 percent in many mature economies). At the same time, demand for listed equities in developed economies is likely to fall due to aging, shifting pension regimes, growth of alternative investments, and new financial regulations.The result, according to a new McKinsey Global Institute report, The emerging equity gap: Growth and stability in the new investor landscape, will be a potential $12.3 trillion “equity gap” between the amount of equities that investors will demand and what companies will need to fund growth over the next decade. MGI projects that the share of global financial assets held in listed equities could fall from 28 percent to 22 percent by 2020, if these trends continue.
