Went to a shareholder meeting in Cleveland and realized I'm the only one who thinks proxy fights are overrated.

I sat in on this annual meeting for a mid-size manufacturing company last Tuesday. The whole room was buzzing about this activist investor trying to replace two board seats, and everyone was acting like it was the Super Bowl. But I watched the whole thing and the guy's plan was basically "sell off the real estate" which sounds like a short-term cash grab to me. Am I missing something or do proxy fights mostly just benefit the lawyers and hedge funds while normal shareholders get nothing?

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uma3061mo ago

Saw three proxy fights last year as a shareholder in different companies. Every time the activists won, the stock dropped 12-15% within six months. The lawyers always cash out first. You're not wrong about the real estate play either.