Alternative Market Briefing

RWC observes activist hedge funds thrive in the current economic climate

Tuesday, February 26, 2013

Beverly Chandler, Opalesque London: The co-heads of RWC Partners, Maarten Wildschut and Petteri Soininen, report that the current economic backdrop provides a very fertile ground for the team’s constructive activist strategy to create value in listed markets. RWC is responsible for $5.5bn of assets and manages a range of active equity and bond strategies for institutional and intermediary clients. Their announcement comes after news from Hedge Fund Research that $3.8bn flowed into activist funds in 2012, against $1.8bn in 2010.

Commenting on the economic climate, Maarten Wildschut said: "As active owners, we invest in a small number of fundamentally sound European quoted companies, in which we can act as a catalyst for value creating change. The current economic environment has led many companies to be more open to re-assess their group structure and capital allocation. This provides a very good environment for shareholder involvement. Furthermore, the short-term orientation of financial markets can often lead to mis-pricing of the shares of companies that are undergoing change. With an in-depth understanding of companies and their transformational opportunities, active owners are in a good position to generate strong returns."

Regarding active ownership, Petteri Soininen added: "Active ownersh......................

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