In total, activists' assets amount to only 1% of the value of the S&P 500 index of top firms.Activists wield disproportionate power because the ownership of big firms in America has polarised.
The total number of activist campaigns has nevertheless remained high, due in large part to newer and often smaller activists targeting small and mid-size companies.
As discussed above, however, the total number of activist campaigns announced in 2016 is on pace to be equal to, or only slightly less than, those announced in 2015.
Hundreds attended the trial of a total of nine activists on Monday, which had to be moved to a larger courthouse in anticipation of the intense public interest.
In three separate protests over the past three weeks, a total of 109 activists have been arrested for blocking traffic in front of Federal Plaza in Lower Manhattan, where the government's immigration agencies have their New York offices.
In December 2010, under the direction of U.S. Attorney Patrick Fitzgerald, the FBI delivered 9 new subpoenas in Chicago to anti-war and Palestine solidarity activists -- bringing the total number of subpoenaed activists to 23.
The percentage of settlement agreements that have been filed with the SEC for 2016 campaigns to date as compared to the total number of completed activist campaigns has increased significantly from 2015, as illustrated in the table below.
Because the largest 20percentt of U.S. public firms make up 91percentt of the total market value, an activist intervention for a large firm likely has a far bigger impact on investors than an intervention for a small firm.
One that has been used in recent cases is charging individuals on multiple grounds, thus increasings their total jail sentence, whereas activists were previously given less years in jail for similar activities.
As the unnamed campaigner was arrested yesterday on suspicion of conspiracy to commit criminal damage, it also emerged that a total of four climate activists have been detained this week attempting to travel to Copenhagen.
