Today activists are still agitating managements to improve their operations. In fact, it’s become a very popular strategy that has gained a lot of attention; the funds dedicated to this activity have attracted a lot of assets. Carl Icahn, Nelson Peltz, Dan Loeb, and Bill Ackman, among others, have garnered quasi-rock-star status as investors. However, not all activists are worth following, and Buffett spoke disparagingly about the activists of today at the 2015 Berkshire meeting, saying that most of what he sees nowadays is “really reaching,” meaning he sees their demands as not necessarily in
...more
