Some U.S. activists post double-digit gains but many nurse losses

William Ackman’s Pershing Square Capital Management gained 35% while Jason Aintabi’s Blackwells Capital climbed 27% and Glenn Welling’s Engaged Capital returned 17% in the first seven months of the year, investors said. Representatives of the funds declined to comment.

For Ackman and Welling, 2020 marks a continuation of strong returns in 2019, which was a banner year for activists overall after a disappointing 2018 when a late year stock market rout left many activists with losses.

Starboard Value, one of this year’s busiest corporate agitators, returned 8.6% in the first half of the year, an investor said. The firm, which launched three campaigns for change during the first half of the year, won eight board seats in a proxy fight at GCP Applied Technologies.

More broadly, the average activist nursed a 14% loss in the first six months of 2020, according to Hedge Fund Research data. That compares with a 3.5 drop for the average hedge fund, a category that includes those focused on technology and healthcare investing that have performed well this year.