{
  "slug": "activist",
  "name": "Activist Investing",
  "aliases": [
    "Shareholder Activism"
  ],
  "category": "event-driven",
  "description": "A long-biased equity strategy that takes concentrated stakes in companies and engages with management or boards to drive value-creation actions: capital returns, divestitures, M&A, governance changes, or operational restructurings.",
  "investment_thesis": "Public companies are systematically under-managed for shareholder value; concentrated owners with playbooks can catalyze the value gap.",
  "edge_source": "Operational expertise, proxy/legal know-how, network of board candidates, and willingness to run public campaigns.",
  "typical_holding_period": "1-5 years",
  "typical_leverage": {
    "min": 1,
    "max": 1.5,
    "typical": 1
  },
  "expected_volatility": {
    "min": 12,
    "max": 25,
    "unit": "annualized-pct"
  },
  "expected_sharpe": {
    "low": 0.4,
    "high": 1
  },
  "drawdown_profile": "Concentration produces idiosyncratic, sometimes deep drawdowns. Strong outcomes when campaigns succeed.",
  "correlation_to_equities": 0.7,
  "correlation_to_bonds": 0,
  "liquidity_profile": "annual",
  "instruments_used": [
    "common stock",
    "options",
    "13D filings"
  ],
  "asset_classes": [
    "equities"
  ],
  "primary_risks": [
    "campaign failure",
    "governance entrenchment",
    "concentration",
    "13D / 10b-5 / Reg M-A scrutiny"
  ],
  "fee_structure": {
    "management_fee": "1.5%-2.0%",
    "performance_fee": "20%",
    "hurdle_rate": "Often soft hurdle",
    "high_water_mark": true
  },
  "key_metrics": [
    "IRR",
    "campaign close rate",
    "abnormal returns post-13D",
    "shareholder vote outcomes"
  ],
  "notable_practitioners": [
    "Carl Icahn",
    "Bill Ackman (Pershing Square)",
    "Paul Singer (Elliott)",
    "Daniel Loeb (Third Point)",
    "Nelson Peltz (Trian)"
  ],
  "exemplar_funds": [
    "pershing-square",
    "elliott-management",
    "third-point",
    "trian-partners"
  ],
  "related_terms": [
    "13d-filing",
    "proxy-fight",
    "poison-pill",
    "white-knight",
    "corporate-governance"
  ],
  "related_strategies": [
    "long-short-equity",
    "event-driven"
  ],
  "historical_drawdowns": [
    {
      "year": 2015,
      "event": "Valeant collapse (Pershing Square)",
      "estimated_drawdown_pct": -27
    },
    {
      "year": 2018,
      "event": "GE drag on activists",
      "estimated_drawdown_pct": -10
    }
  ],
  "academic_foundations": [
    "Brav, Jiang, Partnoy, Thomas — Hedge Fund Activism (2008)"
  ]
}