Thoughts on Starboard Value, activist investing in general?
Wanted to hear some opinions on starboard, seems like a very good firm but still a kind of low key.
Also curious about activist investing in general? Seems like a pretty cool and interesting space that working in seems less monotonous, but do you guys think it’s immoral? Not that other forms of investing aren’t in many different ways but do potentially feel that about activist in some capacity.
Why we talking abt morals here
If Blackrock can have their tone deaf big ESG push I have no issue with what activist investors choose to do. Gone are the days of hostile takeovers by corporate raiders. Today they're just smart shareholders who manage to convince others that their ideas are better than management's. If management can't convince shareholders they're making the right call then that's on them.
An activist investor is at the end of the day, just another shareholder, not some demon or bad-actor trying to sink a company. You can argue that activists are too short-term oriented, but I think that narrative is overdone and more representative of the 1980s corporate raiders that are no longer around. Activism nowadays is generally constructive, take the Engine No. 1 engagement with Exxon as an example. I struggle to see how you could consider being an activist as an immoral pursuit.
I encourage you to read the book Dear Chairman and then begin to form your own unbiased opinions on what it means to be an activist investor. As others have mentioned, the term has involved considerably, so some historical context may be helpful to your understanding. It’s also just an excellent and easy read.
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