October 5, 2021
Activism: What Industries Are In The Cross-Hairs?
FTI Consulting recently published its Q2 Activism Vulnerability Report, which provides an overview of the state of play in shareholder activism & ranks the vulnerability of various industries to activist campaigns. This excerpt says that there have been some changes at the top of the list:
For the first time since the Q3 2020 report, the Utilities sector is not the most vulnerable sector to shareholder activism, as defined by FTI’s Activism Vulnerability Screener. Both the Aviation & Airlines sector and the Media & Publishing sector have overtaken the Utilities sector in terms of total vulnerability to shareholder activism. The Aviation & Airlines sector faces continued COVID-19 challenges, as business travel remains depressed when compared to pre-pandemic levels; the near-term future for both business and personal travel remains murky due to the surging Delta variant.
The Regional Banks and Automotive sectors were the largest movers up the vulnerability rankings, each moving up eleven spots. The Real Estate sector, on the other hand, was the largest downward mover in the vulnerability rankings, moving lower by fourteen spots. The S&P Real Estate Select Sector Index is the top performing sector index year-to-date after a challenging 2020 in which it was the second worst performing sector index. The Real Estate sector was particularly stalled by COVID-19 and the ensuing stay-at-home orders but has rebounded as vaccination rates increase and both corporations and citizens return to normalcy.
– John Jenkins