The Puzzle of Financial Leverage Clienteles
发现高杠杆公司的股票多被低税率投资者持有，而低杠杆公司股票多被高税率投资者持有，并指出这一现象源于股利客户的存在以及股利收益率与杠杆率的正相关关系。
ABSTRACT Empirically, it appears that common stock of publicly traded corporations with high‐debt ratios tends to be held by investors with relatively low marginal taxes while the stock in companies with little debt is held by investors in high‐tax brackets. A number of authors have argued that in an equilibrium similar to the one described by Miller [8], these clienteles should exist. We argue that standard portfolio theory does not imply financial leverage clienteles for publicly traded firms. We explain the empirical relationship between investor tax rates and leverage ratios by the existence of dividend clienteles and a positive relationship between dividend yield and leverage ratios.