Do Activists Align with Larger Mutual Funds?
arXiv:2411.16553 · doi:10.1016/j.jbankfin.2025.107402
Abstract
This paper demonstrates that hedge funds tend to design their activist campaigns to align with the preferences and ideologies of institutions holding large stakes in the target company. I estimate these preferences by analyzing the institutions' previous proxy voting behavior. The results reveal that activists benefit from this approach. Campaigns with a stronger positive correlation between the preferences of larger institutions and activist communications attract more shareholder attention, receive more votes, and are more likely to succeed.
28 pages, 5 figures, 10 tables