But finance companies, including commercial banks, will snare much of the spotlight because of the nature of their business, which involves trades, loans and other dealings on behalf of third parties.
Overstock will specialize in last-minute deals marketed on behalf of third parties that negotiate with suppliers for cheap fares and rates and then sell them at a profit.
"When Stripe launched in 2011, very early on, one of the fastest growing use cases we saw was companies not accepting money on behalf of themselves but accepting money on behalf of third parties," co-founder John Collison told me.
OneWest also serviced billions of dollars of mortgage loans on the behalf of third parties, such as Fannie Mae.
The same month, his government introduced new legislation on conflicts of interest, such that former cabinet ministers would have to wait one year before doing business with the government or lobbying it on behalf of third parties (up from six months).
The party structures in local communities often works to discourage organizing on behalf of third-party candidates.
"We note that Axa is not divesting of tobacco holdings where, like us, they are managing funds on behalf of third-party clients," said a spokesperson for Schroders.
In a previous statement, the firm said it held the gun companies' stock on behalf of third-party investors in its US aerospace and defense fund, and pointed out that it had other portfolios in which clients can choose to avoid investment in firearms, tobacco and alcohol manufacturers.
"Microsoft has engaged in the same pattern of conduct in a variety of markets," says Donald Falk, a Palo Alto, Calif., lawyer who has appeared in the case on behalf of third-party clients in opposition to Microsoft.
That feature has been a big boon for Twitter, who now has loads of third party applications proselytizing on behalf of its ecosystem.
I delivered for Harry and Linda Thomason, pushing for a couple of Arkansas felons on behalf of a third party.
