Equity markets are part of our financial plumbing. We take them for granted. But rarely do we step back and ask what they’re really there for. Principally to allow companies to raise money to finance future growth? While that once was true, it no longer is.

The number of US listed companies has shrunk by around half over the past 20 years, and our analysis finds a similar collapse in the UK and parts of Western Europe. This trend has not been reflected in emerging markets, especially, Asia, where they have grown in prominence. In developed markets however, there is clearly a declining appetite for IPOs and consistently higher numbers of companies delisting (mainly due to mergers and acquisitions) are to blame.