Activist investors are putting pressure on them – today often also on important issues of ecological sustainability. Boards should welcome the commitment.
(Photo: Getty Images)
Frankfurt For many corporate leaders, activist shareholders are still a red rag. The hedge funds from London and New York are often denigrated as short-term highwaymen who, with their demands for a new group or remuneration structure, keep the board of directors from working – and who want to force the greatest possible influence on the company and the supervisory board with little capital investment.
The defensive attitude is a typically German phenomenon. People are alienated from Anglo-Saxon capitalism.
Activist shareholders are well-trained sleuths who put their finger in wounds. They are usually lured by poor stock price performance or apparent deficiencies in corporate governance.
And they keep up with the times: Today, activists also come out on the scene when ecological or social undesirable developments are to be lamented. Shell, Exxon and RWE have already been confronted with demands on the subject of climate protection.
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But this is just the beginning. If you look at the (lack of) diversity in some German management floors, you can already see the next gateways. The lack of attention to ESG criteria is a lever for most hedge funds to become active in the future.
But only a minority of the top executives in the local companies believe that danger is looming from here. Many believe only the energy industry has a problem here. A blatant misjudgment.
The German managers should finally see the activists in general as an opportunity. Siemens, for example, is constantly working on the structure of the group so as not to be vulnerable. The honest dialogue creates added value, the blanket defense only effort. One should deal with the arguments publicly, not just in private discussions, in order to create transparency for the shareholders.
In addition, the activists are increasingly finding allies in the classic asset managers – such as Legal & General, Goldman Sachs Asset Management or Amundi. In the past year, the activist hedge funds held back with campaigns – probably also so as not to be seen as benefiting from the corona pandemic.
But now the grace period is over – they’re knocking on the board door again. Open up and talk to them.
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