An activist investor stated that “Elizabeth Warren is right” when she left the helm of her giant hedge fund to focus on investing in environmental and social impact.
Jeffrey Ubben, a corporate cage dealer who has fueled change in giants like Microsoft, BP and Nintendo, said he will leave his $ 16 billion hedge fund, ValueAct Capital, to start a new fund that is more socially conscious.
Upon leaving, the 57-year-old financier took the opportunity to cast corporate greed on Wall Street.
“Companies, as it is governed today, with investors asking for more current earnings and more buybacks, etc., are not working for society or nature,” Ubben told the Financial Times in an interview.
The San Francisco-based hedgie fired activist investors who “intimidate small businesses to sell to private equity,” saying the strategy has developed on its own.
“The finances are already done. Everyone has bought from everyone else with low-cost debt. Everyone has maximized their margin. They have bought back all their shares, ”said Ubben. “There is nothing there. Each industry has about three players. “
“Elizabeth Warren is right,” he added, referring to the US senator. USA Which has been a gadfly for private equity companies for years, introducing legislation to reduce their power in July 2019.
Ubben, who founded ValueAct in 2000, said his new fund, Inclusive Capital Partners, will seek to generate big profits by putting pressure on big companies to tackle environmental and social issues.
“When you talk about tackling climate change with a trade solution, that’s the world’s biggest problem,” said Ubben. “That’s like a 10 times your money deal.”
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