Interest in the growth of tradeable securities in early modern Britain, especially its relationship to economic development and the funding of government debt, has centered mainly on the borrower – whether it be trading company, industrial enterprise, or the state. This article directs attention to the investor, using Charity Commission Reports for England and Wales that document a dramatic mid-eighteenth-century shift by donors and trustees from investments in real estate and rent charges to perpetual government annuities, mainly 3 percent Consols. The heavy investment in this public debt product is what ultimately prompted the creation of the London Stock Exchange in 1801.In analyzing this shift, which occurred among the propertied in all regions of the nation, not just the metropolis or among corporate entities and the mercantile community, I consider both what made the annuities increasingly attractive for charitable trusts and the alternatives – real estate and private loans secured by mortgage or other means – more problematic. Legal changes, I argue, played a role in the transformation, especially the Charitable Uses Act of 1736, which made charitable devises of real estate very difficult and probably resulted in reduced investment in human capital and less wealth redistribution. Regions varied, however, in the degree to which they switched from real estate in the latter part of the eighteenth century; they also differed in the extent to which the switch resulted in more gifts of interest-bearing loans as well.Admittedly, the changes documented in this article concern only one type of depository for assets, charitable trusts. The appeal of these annuities, however, could extend to investments needed for other purposes such as postmortem payments to dependents. Moreover, the fall-off in demand for real estate in trusts correlates with GDP estimates showing a steady decline in income from real assets after 1755 and what some have noted in this period as a puzzle – the lack of an increased rate of return on rents and private loans at a time of robust investment in government debt. Most importantly, though, the transition demonstrates the ability of the government to induce a broad spectrum of the propertied population to invest in securities, if the vehicle they offered had the right characteristics, which were not necessarily highest yield or liquidity without loss in value.

中文翻译：

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跟踪投资于近代早期英格兰和威尔士的政府证券的增长

近代早期英国对可交易证券增长的兴趣，尤其是其与经济发展和政府债务融资的关系，主要集中在借款人身上——无论是贸易公司、工业企业还是国家。本文将注意力转向投资者，使用英格兰和威尔士的慈善委员会报告记录了 18 世纪中叶捐赠者和受托人从房地产投资和租金费用到永久政府年金（主要是 3% 的 Consols）的戏剧性转变。对这种公共债务产品的大量投资最终促成了 1801 年伦敦证券交易所的成立。在分析这种转变发生在全国所有地区的房地产中，而不仅仅是大都市或公司实体和商业机构之间社区，我认为是什么使年金对慈善信托越来越有吸引力，而替代品——房地产和以抵押或其他方式担保的私人贷款——则更成问题。我认为，法律变化在转型中发挥了作用，尤其是 1736 年的《慈善使用法》，这使得房地产的慈善设计变得非常困难，并可能导致人力资本投资减少和财富再分配减少。然而，各地区在 18 世纪后期从房地产转向的程度各不相同。它们在转换导致更多有息贷款赠与的程度方面也存在差异。诚然，本文中记录的变化仅涉及一种类型的资产存管机构，即慈善信托。然而，这些年金的吸引力，可以扩展到其他目的所需的投资，例如对家属的死后付款。此外，信托中房地产需求的下降与 GDP 估计相关，显示 1755 年之后实物资产收入稳步下降，以及在此期间一些人认为是一个谜——租金回报率没有增加在对政府债务进行强劲投资的情况下提供私人贷款。不过，最重要的是，如果政府提供的工具具有正确的特征（不一定是最高收益或流动性而不损失价值），政府有能力引导广泛的有产者投资证券。信托中房地产需求的下降与 GDP 估计相关，表明 1755 年之后来自不动产的收入稳步下降，而在这一时期，有些人认为这是一个谜——租金和私人投资回报率没有增加在对政府债务进行强劲投资时提供贷款。不过，最重要的是，如果政府提供的工具具有正确的特征（不一定是最高收益或流动性而不损失价值），政府有能力引导广泛的有产者投资证券。信托中房地产需求的下降与 GDP 估计相关，表明 1755 年之后来自不动产的收入稳步下降，而在这一时期，有些人认为这是一个谜——租金和私人投资回报率没有增加在对政府债务进行强劲投资时提供贷款。不过，最重要的是，如果政府提供的工具具有正确的特征（不一定是最高收益或流动性而不损失价值），政府有能力引导广泛的有产者投资证券。