In Good Company with Nicolai Tangen

HIGHLIGHTS: Paul Singer

Feb 28, 2025

Delve into the mind of legendary investor Paul Singer as he discusses the impact of activist investing on company strategy and management. He emphasizes the necessity of external pressure for genuine change and shares insights on long-term value versus short-term risks. The conversation also touches on his concerns about today's market being extraordinarily risky and critiques current economic policies like negative interest rates. Singer advises the younger generation to pursue a broad education to navigate future uncertainties.

10:43

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Quick takeaways

Paul Singer emphasizes the importance of activist investing in driving company value through strategic changes and management engagement.

He warns that current market conditions are unusually risky, urging investors to be cautious due to rising leverage and inflated tech valuations.

Deep dives

The Role and Impact of Activist Investing

Activist investing involves acquiring equity positions in companies to influence management and improve their strategies to unlock value. This can include advocating for changes in management, capital structure, or financial tactics that overall enhance the company's profitability and positioning within the market. Given the rise of passive investing strategies, activist investing is increasingly relevant, as many companies fail to engage actively with their own strategies. The success rate of activist interventions is high, with nearly 100% of instances showing added value, although structural changes might be reflected in stock movements only about 70% of the time.

Intro

2min

Long-Term Value vs. Short-Term Risks in Investing

5min

Economic Policies and the Value of a Broad Education

3min

We've curated a special 10-minute version of the podcast for those in a hurry.

Here you can listen to the full episode: https://podcasts.apple.com/no/podcast/paul-singer-activist-investing-market-risks-and/id1614211565?i=1000696105423&l=nb

This week, Nicolai Tangen sits down with Paul Singer, legendary investor and founder of Elliott investment Management, one of the world's most influential activist investors. Singer shares insights from his remarkable career spanning several decades, discussing how activist investing works, why companies need external pressure for change, and his philosophy of never losing money. He opens up about major investment cases, while offering sharp observations on current markets, which he sees as "just about as risky as I've ever seen." The 80-year-old Singer also shares his views on crypto, AI valuations, and his advice to young people. The conversation offers a rare glimpse into the mind of one of investing's most successful and determined practitioners.

In Good Company is hosted by Nicolai Tangen, CEO of Norges Bank Investment Management. New full episodes every Wednesday, and don't miss our Highlight episodes every Friday.

The production team for this episode includes Isabelle Karlsson and PLAN-B's Niklas Figenschau Johansen, Sebastian Langvik-Hansen and Pål Huuse. Background research was conducted by Kristian Haga.