Have activist investors gone too far? That is what the news focus may be full of in the coming week. The financial media loves following activist investors like Carl Icahn, Bill Ackman and a dozen or so others. Now reports are out that the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Federal Bureau of Investigation are investigating Icahn over possible insider trading — and for a twist it involves a gambler named William Walters and golfer Phil Mickelson.
The first thing that investors need to know is that just because someone is being investigated does not mean that there is guilt. Sometimes that gets lost in the media and in the public opinion.
Both Reuters and CNBC reported that Icahn was unaware of any such investigations. The reports show Icahn acknowledging a business relationship with Walters but not knowing Mickelson personally.
This may end up being quite a sway in the way that activist investors are treated in the coming weeks and months. That view may hold true even if this investigation turns out to have been nothing more than a waste of time.
Until more data is out, we will avoid much of the public bantering over this matter.
ALSO READ: Big Changes in Carl Icahn’s Stock Holdings
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