Top fundies split on rise in activism on 'narrow' ASX
Activist investors are growing in prominence on the ASX — but not everyone is convinced the approach works in our relatively small and staid equity market.
Activist investors may have produced a bruising year for ASX boardrooms last year, but not everyone is convinced the more aggressive and outspoken style of investing will continue to gain prominence in the local market.
“I’ve heard this every year for the past 20 years,” Allan Gray managing director and chief investment officer Simon Mahwinney told Capital Brief.
In an interview with Capital Brief this week Tanarra Capital portfolio manager Vidhur Rangaswamy, a key figure behind the fund's bets on Nine, LendLease, Insignia Financial and other well known names predicted a rising tide of shareholder activism on the ASX.
"We're absolutely on the same trajectory as Europe, where I think we'll find over the next decade, it will be a larger asset class," he said.
