Modern finance · 1950s–1990s
1968
The Williams Act: big stakes must be disclosed
Anyone buying a large stake in a company has to say so publicly.
In the 1960s, raiders could quietly buy up a company's shares and launch a surprise takeover. The Williams Act of 1968 required anyone passing a set ownership threshold to file a public disclosure with their plans; the threshold was lowered to 5% in 1970.
💡 Why it made sense then
Shareholders deserved to know when someone was building a controlling stake, before they sold to them.
🎮 In Journey Shares
Whale alerts announce when a player's holding crosses 10% of a listing's pool, and every 5 points above that.
Ideas it gave us
- 🏗️ Ownership disclosure (the 5% rule)
In the US, anyone who comes to own more than 5% of a company's voting shares must disclose it publicly, with their intentions, within days.
- 🏗️ Information asymmetry
Information asymmetry is when one side of a deal knows more than the other. It can cause adverse selection, where bad products or risks drive out good ones.
Practise with $10,000 in play money
Free. No real money involved.