Publications
The Lab publishes cutting edge research and scholarship on employee ownership investing, the future of the Ownership Economy as wealth changes hands and new leaders enter the field, and policy recommendations for investors interested in addressing structural inequality and reducing the racial and gender wealth gap across the U.S.
Published December, 2025
2025 State of the Employee Ownership Fund Marketplace:
A fast-emerging market at a critical inflection point for investors, businesses and the broader economy
Building on the groundbreaking 2024 state-of-the-market report about employee ownership investing, this annual report offers a detailed up-to-date look at the emerging and fast-growing employee ownership investment landscape. Capturing a market at a critical inflection point, the 2025 State of the Employee Ownership Fund Marketplace reveals how a growing number of specialized funds are reshaping business ownership in the U.S..
With just $865 million in assets under management, these funds represent a tiny fraction of private market capital—yet offer a powerful pathway to broader wealth creation, business resilience and economic transformation. The report provides investors, policymakers and business leaders with a comprehensive view of an investment approach that can deliver both financial returns and meaningful social impact.
Published March, 2025
The Silver Tsunami, the Great Wealth Transfer and the future of employee ownership in the United States
This paper connects the dots between the “silver tsunami” opportunity—the great wave of baby boomer business owner retirement—and the economic trends flowing from the Great Wealth Transfer, presenting an exciting potential to realize investment scale for employee ownership in new and creative ways.
Today, wealth inequality is one of the biggest crises we face as a nation, undergirding poverty and health inequities, creating social unrest, economic instability, and political polarization. We urgently need near-term, actionable, and scalable solutions—like employee ownership—to address our wealth gaps.
Published February, 2025
Social Innovations Journal, Vol. 29 (2025): Trends in Employee Ownership and Not-for-Profit Fiscal Sponsorship Management Models
In partnership with Social Innovations Journal and Social Impact Commons, Ownership Capital Lab was thrilled to curate the February 2025 issue to present “Trends in Employee Ownership and Not-for-Profit Fiscal Sponsorship Management Models.”
[Excerpt] Ownership is ultimately what creates economic stability for individuals and families . . . . Broad-based employee ownership (EO), in which all employees can become owners of their workplace, creates opportunities for frontline workers to also buy a home, save for retirement, and provide for the next generation. EO is one of the rare topics that everyone seems to agree on because it creates benefits for all stakeholders: for workers, for businesses, for selling business owners, and for communities. This issue’s employee ownership articles showcase a range of nonprofits that are each supporting the growth of EO in critical ways.
Published December, 2024
OWNERSHIP LENS INVESTING: Capitalizing the employee ownership opportunity
Our most recent findings about the dynamic landscape of employee ownership investing are based on in-depth interviews with the employee ownership (EO) funds currently active or in development across the U.S. This briefing from Ownership Capital Lab and Transform Finance reveals fresh insights into the investment opportunities that empower working people and support broader wealth-building strategies across our economy
Published September, 2024
Federal policy recommendations to finance the growth of the Ownership Economy
Growing ownership opportunities in the U.S. economy is one of the most promising ways to expand financial freedom and chip away at the country’s enormous wealth gap. What does that mean exactly? It means making it easier for Americans – especially those at lower income levels – to grow their household balance sheets by developing assets and equity, for example through home ownership or by having an ownership stake in the company where they work.