Chumming with Sharks?
June 6, 2007 - Mutual/Hedge Funds
When hedge funds publicly demand that management of firms in which the funds hold large stakes take steps to improve stock prices, should other investors take notice? Do such demands distract or focus management regarding shareholder interests? In the November 2006 draft of their paper entitled “Hedge Fund Activism, Corporate Governance, and Firm Performance”, Alon Brav, Wei Jiang, Frank Partnoy and Randall Thomas investigate the relationship between hedge fund activism and stock returns. They identify instances of fund activism by (1) searching 2001-2005 news databases for stories mentioning both “activism” and “hedge fund” and (2) analyzing associated SEC Schedule 13D filings, with special attention to the reasons for the transactions as stated in the filings. Using the resulting set of 888 events involving 131 funds and 775 companies, they conclude that: Keep Reading