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Hedge Fund Activist and Target Company Collaboration

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Hedge fund activism is an increasingly prevalent phenomenon in the world of finance. Several research studies have attempted to understand the nature and extent of hedge fund activism. The article discusses how the practice of activism is evolving and the impact it has on the performance of companies it targets. It also explores the culture and collaboration between activist hedge funds and their target companies.

Demands to the Board

The hedge fund activist has been making waves over the past few years. They have been attempting to influence the board of directors and company strategy through a number of avenues. These include proxy fights, shareholder meetings, op-eds, press releases, and public criticism.

Despite their efforts, most hedge funds have not had a big impact on the overall value of the company. Nevertheless, they have been responsible for several innovations, such as a new form of takeover bid.

Activists have a limited amount of funds to invest in companies and are stretched to fill board positions. This has led to an increase in activism AUM. However, the results have been mixed. For example, the ACTIOUS Index, a metric from Hedge Fund Research, has regressed in absolute terms.

While it is not clear how much influence these efforts have had on the stock's price, they can have a major impact on total returns. One of the most powerful tactics by activists is to pressure the board to hire an external candidate. An outside director might be able to improve the company's governance score.

The Hedge Fund Research's ACTIOUS Index has declined in absolute terms for the past three years. In fact, the index has trailed the S&P 500 in five of the last eight years.

Despite these results, it's still possible for an activist to make a meaningful difference to a company's performance without owning significant equity. That said, the best way to encourage activism is to give shareholders the right to vote for minority directors. Generally, directors and management teams are willing to agree to this if they can avoid a distraction from the proxy fight.

Culture of collaboration between target companies and activist hedge funds

It's no secret that a culture of collaboration between target companies and activist hedge funds is growing. Activists are using their powers of persuasion to oust managers and directors at a staggering rate. But are these interventions worth it? The fact is that the benefits of collaborative efforts between a target company and an activist hedge fund are likely to be limited to the target firm. A large portion of the $8 trillion in capital invested in the S&P 1500 doesn't earn its cost of capital.

What's more, companies are likely to make mistakes that will harm their long-term performance. In fact, a recent BCG study found that half of the S&P 1500 experience significant write-offs. As a result, corporate boards will continue grappling with ever[1]changing tactics from the “activist” community.

As a result, a company may decide to take shortcuts that won't pay off in the long run. That said, there are some best practices that a company can adopt in order to be more appealing to the activist community.

For example, a company might use a quantitative screen to determine whether its executives are misaligned with their companies' capital strategies. In this case, a quantitative screen may include industry-specific operating metrics. These metrics can highlight red flags in key measures.

Finally, a company may look at the balance sheet, management, and governance in order to preemptively make changes that will be less attractive to the activist community. This is a particularly important function to address as a target firm begins to feel pressure from activist investors.

While not a cure all, a company's senior management can play a big part in this endeavor. Taking the time to investigate this function can help a company reduce its risk profile and increase its appeal to long-term shareholders.

Research-based views expressed in comment letters

Activist hedge funds have become increasingly powerful. Their aim is to maximize value for shareholders, and often use confrontational tactics. They can influence management and Board members to adopt certain changes. In some cases, they can be a catalyst for change, creating an immediate spike in company value. But they also consume a great deal of time and resources.

The SEC has proposed changes to its rulemaking process that activist investors and others believe will make it harder to engage in activism. Specifically, the SEC wants to tighten rules about when and how activists disclose their stakes. These new rules aim to prevent leaks of information and ensure that other shareholders can exercise their rights as shareholders.

But critics say that tougher disclosure rules will make activism unprofitable. Some academics have criticized the new rules. One of the most vocal critics is Richard Zabel, the general counsel for Elliott Management Corp. He has already met with SEC officials. And the director of the Institute for Law and Finance at Berkeley's Law School, Frank Partnoy, is drafting comment letters.

His institute has received some labor support. The AFL-CIO executive council issued statements in 2007 that were critical of hedge fund activism. Now, the union has signed a second letter to the SEC, supporting the new rules.

While some activists and corporate managers agree with these criticisms, others disagree. For example, Pershing Square CEO Bill Ackman is a strong advocate for hedge funds. Yet, he has not managed outside money since 2011. Similarly, Ackman has criticized some activist firms.

Some of the biggest names in activist hedge funds are Cevian, Macellum Capital, Ancora Advisors and Sachem Head. Each of these funds specializes in one area of . Often, these hedge funds target companies with a strong shareholder value culture.

Impact on firm performance

Most of the literature on the impact of hedge fund activism has focused on financial performance. This paper takes a different approach and analyzes the impact of hedge fund activism on strategic resource allocation. The paper focuses on three major themes: shareholder activism, corporate social responsibility, and the impact of an activist on the targeted firm.

For this study, we have selected a sample of 1,030 activism targeting events. Using a two-year, five-year, and ten-year sample, we examined the impact of an activist on the targeted firm. We measured the effects on a variety of metrics including profitability, stock price performance, and shareholder activism.

For the most part, the impact of an activist on the targeted firm was relatively small. In particular, we found that the effects of an activist on the targeted firm were relatively weaker on firms that experienced a high cancellation rate.

A number of studies have demonstrated that an activist's presence improves the target firm's operating performance. However, the performance enhancements are more likely to be seen in the short term.

A good rule of thumb is to assume that an activist's influence will be felt most immediately in the first year following the activism. In addition, we expect that the impact of an activist's presence will be somewhat weakened by the human capital attrition associated with employee turnover. Therefore, the overall effect of an activist on the targeted firm may vary significantly from one year to the next.

Although the effect of an activist on the targeted firm's performance is modest, there is evidence that the presence of an activist has a positive effect on shareholder wealth.

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