ABSTRACT
Experiences from the latest financial crisis have made the public more aware than ever of the role of large investors in the North American financial system. During the panic phase of the crisis, the focus of attention was on the bankers’ culpability and on the incompetence of regulators. Furthermore, words such as institutional investors and hedge funds were incessantly used by media reporting on the situation, with little context attached to them (Smith, 2010). Moreover, the discussionwas strictly linked to the financial aspects of investing-gains and loss on stocks and derivatives, the use of complex financial instruments such as collateralized debt obligations (CDOs) and swaps (two parties lend to each other on different terms). Little to no discussion has taken place about the role that geography plays in analysing these investments.
