Most activism advocating for shareholders is to improve operations though.
It provides clear checks and balances that weren't in place before. It isn't always perfect but on average companies with activist investors tend to do significantly better after they take a position. Most of the time they take positions in companies that clearly need to make changes but are too stupid to figure that out themselves. More rights for shareholders the better.....
As far as what's best for business/shareholders, that was happening a long time before activism tookoff. Companies being too short-term oriented just a sign of the time "instant everything" times we live in.
It's a little silly to bring someone in to be CEO, the company declines as well as the stock price, then 4 years later he's out and has banked $100 mil. Of course anyone living in the real world with bills is going to question that. Probably a lot more corruption than we'll ever know about why people get those jobs too.
Yes there are some bad CEOs but if they have support of the board then shareholders pretty much have no power. This is where activism comes in to give shareholders more power.
You can say it potentially gives them too much power and stifles long-term thinking but most research shows it improves business operations.
You can say it potentially gives them too much power and stifles long-term thinking but most research shows it improves business operations.
A more silly idea is the fact that people spend 100K to go to a university and major in business. That PhD academics that have never managed a lemonade stand are somehow business experts that are going to help people get business savvy. I have a business degree and I really don't have the slightest idea about what it was that I was supposed to have learned when I was there. Maybe if I had majored in accounting I would have gotten a specialized trade, but a business degree is a complete joke. College in general is going to be priced out of relevance in the coming years, unless you are going to be a doctor or lawyer.
hno:
