Pensions & Investments (March 22)
“For decades, South Korea’s most powerful tycoons ran their companies with little regard for minority shareholders. Then came Paul Singer. The hedge fund titan’s activist campaigns…have trained a spotlight on the corporate governance failures and complex ownership structures that saddle South Korean stocks with some of the world’s lowest valuations.” His defeat at Hyundai Motor “is unlikely to derail the nascent shift toward more accountability at the business groups that dominate Asia’s fourth-largest economy.”
Tags: Accountability, Activist, Corporate governance, Hedge-fund, Hyundai Motor, Minority shareholders, Paul Singer, South Korea, Valuations
Institutional Investor (April 19)
“Targeted by an activist hedge fund? Try calling in the influencers. A new study of institutional investor relationships found that how shareholders vote—and if they vote—is deeply impacted by who they know. Among major investors, networks move markets.”
Tags: Activist, Hedge-fund, Influencers, Investors, Markets, Networks, Relationships, Shareholders, Target, Vote
The Economist (June 17)
Replacing Jeff Immelt at GE’s helm, new CEO John Flannery will need “to deal with GE’s soggy financial performance. Trian, an activist hedge fund, owns a stake in GE and, behind the scenes, has probably been agitating for change. Unless the numbers improve soon, pressure may mount for GE to break itself up. That would be a bad idea: what it now needs is less re-engineering and more consistent execution. At least Mr Flannery, unlike Mr Immelt, takes the helm when expectations are low.”
Tags: Activist, CEO, Execution, Expectations, Flannery, GE, Hedge-fund, Immelt, Performance, Re-engineering, Trian
Institutional Investor (May 5)
“The adoption of technology, including blockchain, artificial intelligence, and big data, has made it possible for private-equity and hedge-fund managers to reduce their fees, placing competitive pressure on rivals still using a traditional fee model.”
Tags: Adoption, AI, Big Data, Blockchain, Competitive pressure, Fees, Hedge-fund, Private equity, Rivals, Technology
