By Bill Alpert
It's been hard for a stockpicker to beat the tech-driven gains of indexes and passive funds in recent years. One strategy investors have turned to is activist investing, where a hedge fund buys in to a company and seeks new management, spinoffs, or a merger.
Veteran activist funds like Elliott Investment Management and Starboard Value were among the busiest, but nearly 30% of the funds launching campaigns last year were first-timers -- according to a review of 2025 activism released Monday by Barclays Bank.
Last year proved a great setup for activism, said report author Jim Rossman, who heads Barclays shareholder advisory group.
"Just about everything worked in their favor in 2025," Rossman said. In the first part of the year, worries about President Donald Trump's tariffs knocked stock values down to attractive entry points for those with activist plans. As the year progressed, the administration's receptivity to mergers and acquisitions emboldened activists to drive deals.
Merger campaigns accelerated through the year. Initiatives that demanded some kind of M&A comprised 35% of all initiatives in the first half of 2025, and 54% in the second half. The 61% of campaigns with an M&A thesis in the fourth quarter was the highest level in five years, the Barclays report said.
In September, for example, Elliott launched a campaign for divestitures and improved operations at food conglomerate PepsiCo. The mining firm Barrick Mining said last month that it would consider an initial offering of its North American gold assets, following Elliott's November call for a breakup.
Starboard agitated in October for the engineering firm Fluor to sell its stake in NuScale Power, a developer of small modular nuclear reactors. In November, Fluor said it would monetize its NuScale holdings this year.
All told, the number of activist campaigns last year rose to a record 255 worldwide, up about 5% from 2024. The number in the U.S. rose 23% from 2024, to 141.
There were 142 unique activist firms waging campaigns in 2025, with Elliott easily taking the top spot by deploying $19 billion in 18 new campaigns during the year, the report said. A distant second was Starboard, putting $2 billion into 11 campaigns. HoldCo Asset Management was busy pushing for change at regional banks such as KeyCorp.
A notable development in activist M&A initiatives last year was the teaming up of activists with private-equity firms and traditional fund managers, Rossman said. After Corvex Management disclosed its 4.9% position in the recruiting firm Heidrick & Struggles, the recruiter agreed to an October buyout by Corvex's private equity unit and Advent International. In December, mutual fund manager Janus Henderson agreed to be bought by General Catalyst, after a Trian Partners campaign resulted in the departure of Janus' CEO.
Barclays thinks activists and acquirers will be motivated to get deals done before congressional midterm elections this year potentially weaken the Trump administration's laissez-faire hand.
"There are going to be a lot of opportunities for companies to go private, make dispositions and spinoffs," Rossman said. "Activists are going to point the way."
Write to Bill Alpert at william.alpert@barrons.com
This content was created by Barron's, which is operated by Dow Jones & Co. Barron's is published independently from Dow Jones Newswires and The Wall Street Journal.
(END) Dow Jones Newswires
January 05, 2026 19:13 ET (00:13 GMT)
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