15 Most Feared Activist Hedge Funds

4. Trian Partners

Portfolio Value $8.02 billion

In 2005, Nelson Peltz established Trian Partners as an activist hedge fund that pursues investment opportunities in “top-notch yet overlooked and struggling publicly traded companies. With a portfolio value of $8.02 billion, the hedge fund invests in financial and services companies like Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO).

Trian Partners is considered one of the most successful activist hedge funds as shares of companies it gets involved in gain an average of 17% better than the S&P 500. It concentrates on the areas of consumer, industrial, and financial markets.

The activist hedge fund is known for its role as a proactive investor and frequently secures positions on company boards to implement reforms as is at Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO). In addition to pushing for board seats, its investment thesis also focuses on selling some units or the entire business as one of the ways of unlocking additional shareholder value.

Trian Partners holds a limited number of investments but remains highly engaged in them. Peltz describes his approach as operational activism whereby they collaborate with the leadership of companies with significant potential but not performing well to increase profits by reducing costs, eliminating non-core operations, and – most importantly – enhancing well-known brands. One of its most recent activist campaigns is at Rentokil Initial plc (NYSE:RTO), which has opened discussions with the board to discuss ideas and initiatives to improve value.