Shareholder Activism – 2024 Review and 2025 Outlook
Activity by activist hedge funds, both in the U.S. and abroad, has increased since the end of the pandemic. In 2024, there was a slight increase in global activism campaigns compared to 2023, which saw a 9% increase in the number of campaigns compared to 2022. Approximately one-fifth of S&P 500 companies currently have a […]
Elina Tetelbaum is a Partner at Wachtell Lipton Rosen & Katz. This post was prepared for the Forum by Daniel A. Neff, Steven A. Rosenblum, David A. Katz, Andrew J. Nussbaum, Steven A. Cohen, and Igor Kirman.
Activity by activist hedge funds, both in the U.S. and abroad, has increased since the end of the pandemic. In 2024, there was a slight increase in global activism campaigns compared to 2023, which saw a 9% increase in the number of campaigns compared to 2022. Approximately one-fifth of S&P 500 companies currently have a known activist holding more than 1% of their outstanding shares, and there are many other companies at which activists covertly hold through derivatives. Activists’ assets under management have also grown substantially in recent years, with the 50 most significant activists ending 2024 with over $200 billion in equity assets. There has also been a proliferation of first-time activists in recent years.
