Saba vs UK Investment Trusts: The True Cost of Activism - Is Saba's Activism Helping or Hurting?
Cost questions related to Saba's activism are surfacing incl. in Investment Week's latest article. Was this necessary to incur and could both sides have saved shareholders £millions by FIRST engaging?
Activism without engagement comes at a high cost and not just for companies
🚨 Is shareholder activism helping or hurting? In this video, I look at Investment Week's article about the cost of the Saba activism, and Boaz Weinstein’s reply on X to this. As a shareholder who attended and asked about costs at the requisitioned GMs and AGMs of the seven UK investment trusts targeted by Saba, I’ve been watching closely — and doing some rough calculations, particularly in this Herald Investment Trust post-GM analysis video.
🎥 I break it down in this video — but here’s the core takeaway: 🔍
Activism without engagement is reckless, and comes with significant risks, including 'backfire'.
1️⃣ GM requisitions are expensive and disruptive — in money, time, and human impact. That’s why they’re a last resort, not a shortcut.
2️⃣ In rare US cases, companies have clawed back costs from activists only when there’s bad faith or violations. But what happens when activists don’t even try to engage first?
3️⃣ Saba’s UK investment trust push involved £3.2bn in exposure, and likely millions in stamp duty just to gain voting rights. That’s high risk — especially without deep understanding or dialogue.
👉 If you're tracking the rise of hedge fund activism, the role of Boaz Weinstein, or trying to understand how UK AGMs and GMs are being used as activist battlegrounds, this is a must-watch. As a shareholder who attended multiple GMs of the “Saba 7,” I offer a firsthand perspective on the hidden human and financial toll of these campaigns.
📌 In this video:
Why GM requisitions should be a last resort, not a first move
Why and when companies look to legally push back or recover costs
What shareholder activists like Saba really spend to shake up boards
Why lack of engagement could backfire for hedge funds entering UK markets
🔎 Topics covered include: #SabaCapital #BoazWeinstein #ShareholderActivism #InvestmentTrusts #AGMseason #CorporateGovernance #HedgeFundActivism #UKFinance #RetailInvestors #ActivistInvesting #AGMRequisition #Saba7 #HeraldInvestmentTrust
👇 Drop a comment if you’ve attended one of the GMs, or if you’ve done your own math on these campaigns. Let’s compare notes.
🔔 Don’t forget to like, subscribe, and share with anyone tracking the future of UK shareholder engagement.