von Lilienfeld-Toal, U. and Schnitzler, J. (2020). The anatomy of block accumulations by activist shareholders Journal of Corporate Finance, 62:1--22.
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Affiliated authorJan Schnitzler
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Publication year2020
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JournalJournal of Corporate Finance
We conduct a large-sample analysis of investor activism in the US based on all 13D filings from 2001 to 2016. While hedge funds represent the largest filer group, the sample contains a diverse set of other activist shareholders. This raises the question to what extent other investors perform a governance role similar to hedge funds. Based on target firms' outcome variables, like announcement returns of activist campaigns and changes in operating performance measures, we find surprisingly few differences. However, hedge funds play a special role when it comes towards takeovers. They stimulate monitoring activities among relatively larger firms and they help to set payout policies.