October 23, 2013
Chart: Proxy Contests Increase as Activism Continues to Go Mainstream
As noted in this chart from The Conference Board, during the first half of 2013, activists engaged in more proxy contests and set their sights on larger companies. For the January–June period, the number of proxy contests launched against management of Russell 3000 companies rose to 35, up from 24 during the same period in 2012. There were five contests against S&P 500 companies, which are traditionally less exposed to proxy contests, up from two during the first half of 2012.