This week’s discussion is about hedge fund activism’s impact on society.

By  Thursday at 11:59 pm EST

Please take a stand on the following question: Is hedge fund activism good for society?

Please provide a compelling analysis, based on data, to support your answer. This analysis should consider: 1) Is activism good for target firm common stock holders? 2) Is activism good for target firm bondholders? 3) Is activism good for employees of target firms? 4) Is activism good in a broader societal sense: governance, environment, social?

While this question is complex, I want you to choose a side based on your interpretation of the evidence that is available to you. There is not a correct answer, but like many complex issues, there are costs and benefits of activism that accrue to different stakeholders. I would like you to take a stand on your view of the net cost or benefit (benefit minus cost) that activism has on society.

You should use at least two sources of information to answer this question, which can be analyses by others (academic or otherwise), opinion pieces by others, or books by others. You do not need to attach your source material, but you should clearly reference the material (for example, with a web link if possible or a citation if the work is academic in nature).

Regardless of your exact answer, I will be grading you primarily on the strength of the analysis that you conduct and whether this analysis supports your final decision.

Between Friday and Sunday at 11:59 pm EST:

Please respond to at least one of your classmates’ posts, either expanding on their point or disputing their point. Use clear and convincing language, and at least one source of research material (which can be (but does not have to be) one of the sources from your initial post).

Rubric

This discussion will be graded based on:

70%: Quality and thoughtfulness of your analysis: Do you make coherent arguments and support them? Do you use original and carefully sourced data? Do you think broadly about the question from the perspective of all stakeholders?

15%: Completeness and timeliness: Did you answer all the questions and did you do so on time? Did you follow the directions and use at least 2 sources and also respond to one of your classmates?

15%: Writing style, grammar, and cohesion: Do you write in a style that is easy to understand and not filled with jargon? Do you present your idea, back it up with analysis, and then conclude? Do you interpret and contextualize the data from your sources and not simply repeat it? Is your analysis free of spelling and grammatical errors?

The initial post is 80% of the total grade and the response to a classmate is 20% of the total grade.

The order is to write a reply to my classmate’s post.