Many investors may be interested to know whether the COVID-19 pandemic has affected shareholder activism. We will address this by answering two questions.

Question #1: Has there been a slowdown in proxy campaign during the COVID-19 pandemic?

No. Plenty of proxy campaigns are still ongoing, and there is no sign of withdrawal or cancellation due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The only fund that has withdrawn its campaign is Land & Buildings. On March 10, 2020, Land & Buildings nominated board candidates for election to the AMH Board of Trustees. Within a couple of weeks, on March 23, 2020, Land & Buildings withdrew its nomination, hinting the coronavirus outbreak.

List of ongoing proxy campaigns:

Question #2: Any impact in the number of 13D filings?

No.

As per our internal research, 107 “significant 13D” filings were filed in March 2020, compared to 91 in March 2019. Moreover, there were 22 “new” significant 13D filings in March 2020, compared to 13 in March 2019. In the last week of March 2020, when the COVID-19 pandemic started to spread rapidly, 5 “new” significant 13D filings are filed.

Given these facts, there is no sign that the pandemic has affected activism.