Why Are "Activist Investors" Silent on Corporate Social Responsibility?

Once known by terms like "asset strippers" or "corporate raiders," activist investors -- shareholders who take large stakes in a company and pressure or replace its management in order to raise share prices -- have now entered the mainstream and are spreading like wildfire. Hundreds of companies are being singled out by activist investors, who are hungrily adding European firms to their target list after having nearly saturated the US market. Most recently, financier Nelson Peltz set his eyes on Proctor & Gamble (P&G), disclosing a $3.5 billion stake in the consumer goods behemoth and announcing that he's vying for a seat on the board. The move came a few weeks after...read more.