Hedge fund ValueAct Capital gained 39% in 2023 -investor

Insight Enterprises

10/01/2024 20:53

By Svea Herbst-Bayliss
       NEW YORK, Jan 10 (Reuters) - ValueAct Capital, which has
pushed for changes at companies ranging from Salesforce  CRM.N 
to Microsoft  MSFT.O , returned 39% last year, an investor
familiar with the numbers said on Wednesday.
    The returns, among the best for activist investors, were
fueled by successful bets on business software maker Salesforce,
investment company KKR  KKR.N  and technology company Insight
Enterprises  NSIT.O .
    2023 was generally a strong year for corporate agitators,
with the average activist fund returning roughly 20%, according
to Hedge Fund Research (HFR).
    The year marked a recovery from 2022 when markets tumbled
and activists, who often bet that stocks will climb, lost an
average 16%, HFR data shows. In 2022, ValueAct's flagship fund
fell 22%, a person familiar with the returns said.
    A ValueAct spokesman had no comment on returns.
    The San Francisco-based firm, which oversees roughly $10
billion in assets and was founded in 2000, is known for working
with targets out of the limelight and is often invited onto the
board to give advice.
     ValueAct's chief investment officer, Mason Morfit, joined
Salesforce's board in early 2023 and the company's stock nearly
doubled last year. Early this year, Walt Disney  DIS.N , facing
pressure from two activists seeking board seats, entered into an
agreement with ValueAct where the firm will consult with the
entertainment giant and support the company's directors.  
    ValueAct fought a proxy fight in Japan in 2023 when it
unsuccessfully tried to replace four directors at Seven & i
Holdings  3382.T  after having urged the company to spin off its
7-Eleven convenience store chain.
    ValueAct's Japan fund, co-managed by Morfit and Rob Hale,
gained roughly 32% last year after having been launched in late
2022, the investor said.    

 (Reporting by Svea Herbst-Bayliss in New York
Editing by Matthew Lewis)
 ((svea.herbst@thomsonreuters.com; +617 233 2138; Reuters
Messaging: svea.herbst.thomsonreuters.com@reuters.net))