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Canadian activist hedge fund manager Rob Kittel with positive outlook
In a week when hedge funds have been under attack, Rob Kittel was brave to take part in IR magazine's Canada Think Tank yesterday. Around 50 investor relations professionals, including many who have grappled with aggressive hedge funds in the past, had the opportunity to grill Kittel, a partner in Goodwood, one of Canada's leading activist hedge funds. Yet Kittel escaped the TSX Broadcast Centre in Toronto with his skin intact and the respect of most everyone. 'I wish we had more Goodwoods,' said one IRO.
The same day that Pirate Capital was announcing it was losing half its staff amidst an SEC investigation and miserable returns for the year, Kittel distanced Goodwood from the cutthroat tactics wielded by other activist funds. Only about one in ten Goodwood campaigns reach the headlines, he said. The rest play out in cordial letters, phone conversations and meetings with CEOs and directors.
On the other hand, very much like Pirate, Goodwood has seen less than a 6 percent return so far this year, down from annual returns of nearly 25 percent a year. Are cracks showing in the activist strategy? Kittel said no, and insisted there is a lot of value still to be unlocked through targeting underperforming companies. Source
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