Alternative
Ownership
Enterprises
Who owns a business
shapes who it works for.
Alternative Ownership Enterprises (AOEs), from employee ownership to cooperatives and steward ownership, shift value and decision-making power from outside investors to workers, producers, consumers, communities, or a non-financial purpose.
Access our growing library of research, writings, webinars, and tools for investors, business leaders and ecosystem builders, whether you're looking for funds to invest in, a clear guide to new ownership models, or innovations in how these models get financed and the gaps that remain.
Explore the learning hub ↓NEW TO ALTERNATIVE OWNERSHIP?
Start here.
Our flagship report maps business models that share wealth and decision-making power more broadly. Start here to understand the landscape, the various impact strategies, and the role investors can play.
Read the AOE report →
Our database documents funds and investment vehicles that invest in AOE models, providing a starting point for investors seeking funds to back, and for advisors and businesses seeking capital for transactions.
Explore the funds database →
Employee ownership (EO) is a central part of the broader AOE landscape. This overview helps mission-oriented investors understand EO fund approaches and consider where employee ownership could fit in their investment strategy.
Read the employee ownership overview →What we’re working on
Our AOE program brings together employee ownership, acquisition models, and research across the wider alternative ownership field. Explore our three connected areas of work.
CURRENT INITIATIVES
Employee Ownership
EO Impact Measurement
Developing an impact measurement and management (IMM) framework and public guide for employee ownership investors.
Research on Investment Opportunities
Investigating how untapped market segments and financing tools, such as Private Credit, may be tapped to expand EO investment opportunities.
EO in the United Kingdom
Assessing the landscape of funds and asset allocators in the UK who are capitalizing EO transactions.
CURRENT INITIATIVES
Alternative Exits
Holding companies & business succession
Researching holding companies as a route for business succession, and exploring the opportunities these models present for investors and business owners.
Social Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (sETA)
Researching how Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) can be repurposed as an impact strategy that supports workers and societal impact.
CURRENT INITIATIVES
Broader AOE Projects
Maintaining the AOE Fund Database
The AOE Fund Database tracks the funds deploying capital to Alternative Ownership Enterprises, to help investors identify opportunities and the field track key data. Recently expanded to include investments in the UK and Europe.
Expanding the AOE Report
Expanding our foundational Alternative Ownership Enterprises Report to reflect the new structures and financing strategies developed in the past few years.
THE AOE LEARNING HUB
Find what you need.
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Looking beyond Alternative Ownership Enterprises? Browse all Transform Finance resources →
Let’s move the
work forward.
Exploring an investment approach, developing a fund, or building the field?
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