What is an Activist Investor Strategy?
What is an Activist? Many people have different definitions of what exactly being an "activist" means, but one thing that all agree on is that we are called to be civil and peaceful citizens exercising our rights as citizens. In other words, we are to be peaceful in all our conduct-from peacefully exercising our right to peacefully worship to peacefully demanding that our government serves the will of the people, not the will of money. All forms of civil disobedience, including acts of civil disobedience meant to bring about changes in policy or government structure, are forms of what is known as "activism."
Some would say that being an "activist" includes being physically active. This is what most commonly describes any type of non-violent civil disobedience. The term "activist," according to the Oxford dictionary, is "a person who shows sympathy for causes popularly embraced by others." Being an "activist," therefore, is to show your sympathy with, support for, or aid of a particular cause. It is also commonly used to describe any kind of political action aimed at social change.
What does it mean to be an "activist?" Different people will take different stances on this question. It seems to boil down to what makes you feel compelled to participate in activism. There are several different answers to what being an "activist" means.
Some would define an "activist" as someone who regularly goes out on the streets and protests against unjust practices and violence. They participate in acts of civil disobedience and use social media as a medium to call their attention to these injustices. An organizer of a large-scale street protest would be considered an "activist." A Teju contributor to an online blog who goes by the name "Nile Davenport" would consider herself to be more of an "inactive activist."
Activists are not necessarily opposed to profit. Some may participate in protests in order to call attention to corporate wrongdoings that hurt the environment or other minorities. However, many in this group do not have a clear monetary motivation for their activism. This is where being an "inactive" activist comes into play. These activists make their points through social media, nonprofit organizations, or other forms of public expression, but do not have an economic stake in seeing their points of contention become reality.
Activists are part of an ever increasing group of self-care focused folks who are using social media and blogging to engage in political dialogue and to bring awareness to pressing social issues. Bloggers and social media users are generally well intentioned, however some do not have the best interests of the public at heart. agency seems more likely that a blogger would engage in political rhetoric in order to garner attention and to create a larger following. agency is how some in the teju adisa-farrar sector are using blogs. Unfortunately, agency of self-care are subverted by their desire to use the blog to promote their cause. When they ramble about issues in the blog that do not directly affect their businesses or the public in general, they can violate anti-spam laws.
Activist investors will typically be working with companies that have a strong alignment with the public interest. agency will need to have an environmental plan that protects the environment from harm, a strong anti-spam policy, and a strong investor protection policy. Public companies usually have a product or service that solves a problem and provides a service that solves a problem. For example, a car company might make car alarms that can prevent malicious vandalism. This would fall under the public goods philosophy of what is an activist investor.
An activist investor strategy is not limited to traditional forms of investing. There are new forms of investing that take advantage of current technology and new information to make investing more focused and successful. Some of these new ideas are being used by some of the most successful corporations in the world such as Google and Apple. Information can be used to influence corporate governance decisions. Corporate governance is difficult and it requires years of research and development. For companies that are focused on providing a service, the goal is to provide a product that solves a problem and then provide an easy way for the shareholder to benefit through dividends.