In the late 1700s, it was the start of the battle of stock exchanges: in 1773, the London Stock Exchange was formed, and the New York Stock Exchange was formed just 19 years later.
And while London was a preferred destination for international finance at the time, England also had laws that restricted the formation of new joint-stock companies. The law was repealed in 1825, but by then it was already too late.
In the U.S., exchanges in New York City and Philadelphia took full advantage by dealing in stocks early on. Eventually, for this and a variety of other reasons, the NYSE emerged as the most dominant exchange in the world – helping propel New York and Wall Street to the center of finance.
The Center of Finance
Wall Street, and the U.S. in general, is now synonymous with finance – and most of the world’s largest banks, funds, and investors maintain a presence nearby. The biggest asset management companies, which pool investments into securities such as stocks and bonds on behalf of investors, are no exception to this.
Today’s chart shows all global companies with over $1 trillion in assets under management (AUM).
Not surprisingly, all but 17.1% of assets managed by this $1 Trillion Club are overseen by companies based in the United States.
Source: http://www.visualcapitalist.com/chart-trillion-dollar-club/
