The Role of Free Cash Flow and Corporate Governance in the Investment of two-tier companies

The purpose of this study was to investigate whether free cash flow and corporate governance characteristics influence investment at the level of firms listed in a two-tiered strategic securities exchange. The purpose of this study is practical and the research design is quasi-experimental using post-event approach. Also, according to the nature of the research data, multivariate linear regression was used. The statistical population includes all listed companies with two-tier strategic structure, after examining the conditions using Cochran formula and probable stratified sampling, about 152 companies from different banks and financial institutions were selected as sample based on their two-tier system in the years 2009-2013. The results showed that there is a significant  and positive relationship between free cash flow and over- investment and negative relationship between free cash flow and under-investment. And the impact of reduced investment over and under through some of the features of corporate governance is far greater. Therefore, managers, analysts, and investors can be advised to consider governance factors such as the composition of shareholders and the amount of free cash flow when examining corporate financial statements.