Each year, Diligent Market Intelligence (DMI) creates a ranking of the most prolific activists over the past year, based on the quantity and size of their activist investments, comprehensively derived from the DMI database.

The following categories have been used to create a points-based ranking of each activist for this year’s list: number of companies publicly subjected to activist demands, average market capitalization of targeted companies, success of public demands and the depth of news coverage on the activist on DMI in 2025. The methodology excludes investors that do not regularly employ an activist strategy and have targeted fewer than three companies in the period.

1: Elliott Management

Topping the league table for 2025, Elliott found its targets across global markets but with the U.S. accounting for almost 59% of its overall activity. Chief among its U.S. targets was Phillips 66, where the activist secured two out of four seats sought on the 14-member staggered board in a campaign that delivered a novel governance proposal and showcased the power of digital communications with new messaging methods such as video and podcasts that brought director interviews directly to voters. The contest was the activist hedge fund’s first in recent years to go all the way to a shareholder vote after recording 13 settlements between 2022 and 2024 and with many inked at the eleventh hour.

In the U.K. market, Elliott focused its attention on BP where it pressed the oil major to shift away from renewables and channel investment back into oil and gas, while also pushing for significant cost cuts. The energy giant’s board was also overhauled with Chair Helge Lund stepping down to be replaced by Albert Manifold and Giulia Chierchia, who had headed BP’s renewables business, also moving on. Of the new additions, Anglo American director Ian Tyler joined the lineup in March with former Devon Energy Chair and CEO David Hager following in May. In December, BP moved to sell a 65% stake in its Castrol lubricants business, having at the time announced more than half of its targeted $20 billion in divestments, designed to reduce its $26.1 billion of debt and portfolio complexity.

One of the fund’s headline campaigns in Asia saw it turn its attention to Toyota Industries, arguing that Toyota Motor’s buyout offer for the accessories and parts maker was insufficient. A sweetened offer advanced in January still failed to mollify the activist which also warned that it may use its voting power to advance shareholder proposals at the target.

2: Saba Capital Management

In second place on the activist watchlist, Saba Capital Management found the largest number of targets overall in 2025 with its niche strategy focused on closed end funds (CEF) viewed to be trading at a discount to net asset value (NAV).

The U.S. market accounted for 68% of its activity with Pioneer, BNY Mellon and BlackRock funds among the chosen targets. At six Pioneer funds, Saba urged fellow investors to reject the implementation of a new investment advisory agreement arguing that shareholders should be given the opportunity to exit the funds at NAV. Meanwhile, two New York-listed closed-end funds managed by BlackRock agreed to conduct large self-tenders as part of settlement deals.

Outside of the investment fund space, Saba had further success at U.S.-based ASA Gold and Precious Metals with the mining company adding a director in August. Saba had secured two seats at ASA’s 2024 annual meeting.

Having expanded its CEF focus to the U.K. market in recent years, the hedge fund had failed in its initial strategy to overhaul the boards of seven London-listed funds. In 2025, it targeted eight trusts for reforms including some of its former targets. Of the two settlements reached in the period, CQS Natural Resources Growth and Income agreed to run a full self-tender, boost its dividend and slash its management fee while the European Smaller Companies Trust also committed to conduct a tender offer for over 40% of its shares.

Addressing a London investor conference in late-2025, Boaz Weinstein of Saba Capital warned that “there is a storm brewing in the market as discounts on investment trusts grow.”

3: Starboard Value

With 11 targets in its sights in 2025, Starboard Value focused its efforts largely on technology and healthcare stocks and with all of its board seat wins achieved through negotiated settlements.

Of the tech companies to give the activist access to its board, online payments company BILL Holdings named four new directors including Starboard Value’s Peter Feld. Design software provider Autodesk also dodged a proxy contest with Jeff Smith’s fund by agreeing to name two new board members and striking an information sharing agreement.

The year also saw Starboard push for asset sales at online travel company TripAdvisor while in the closing months of 2025, another tech target Clearwater Analytics agreed to be acquired by private equity firms Permira and Warburg Pincus after the activist pushed for a sale process in a bid to unlock trapped value.

In healthcare, Becton, Dickinson and Company agreed to combine its biosciences and diagnostic-solutions business with smaller peer Waters Corp some months after Starboard had applied pressure for a separation period.

Meanwhile, in the consumer space, Kenvue agreed to name three new board members, including Starboard’s Jeff Smith, in a March pact after the dissident had pushed for changes to prop up the share price. It later went on to agree a sale with Kimberly-Clark in a deal that valued the U.S.-based Tylenol maker at almost $49 billion.

4: Ancora Advisors

Ancora kicked off 2025 by mounting a nine-candidate proxy challenge at United States Steel aimed at replacing its CEO and preventing a sale of the 124-year-old company to Japan’s Nippon Steel. The controversial sale had been blocked by former President Joe Biden on national security grounds and had also prompted the intervention of his successor Donald Trump. The activist ultimately withdrew its slate in April citing “productive conversations” with the Trump Administration and U.S. Steel was acquired by Nippon with the U.S. government acquiring a golden share.

In another M&A-themed campaign, Ancora returned to Forward Air with a withhold effort targeting three incumbents over their support for the freight and logistics company’s acquisition of Omni Logistics. The three stepped down after the annual meeting in June and the company is since understood to have been fielding multiple buyout offers as part of its strategic review.

Having emerged victorious from a board fight at Norfolk Southern in 2024, Ancora went on to target another rail company in 2025 – pressuring CSX Corporation to revamp its leadership or merge with a peer with CSX proceeding to name a new CEO in September.

For 2026, Ancora Portfolio Manager James Chadwick says all eyes will be on M&A. “M&A is the big one. If it truly comes back, it would be a boom for activism.”

5: Land and Buildings

Compensation was a key driver of demands for Land and Buildings’ Jonathan Litt in 2025, who criticized targets across the real estate investment trust (REIT) space over perceived mismatches between pay and performance. Moving behind the pay plan alone, the dissident also escalated many efforts to push for a vote against the compensation committee. At Rexford Industrial Realty, the activist cited “egregious” remuneration as he launched an unsuccessful push for the removal of its compensation committee members. Some months later, the REIT announced the departure of its co-CEOs amid constructive discussions with Elliott Management. Litt’s efforts at Equity Residential were similarly framed as contrasting long-term underperformance with outsized pay packages. Among Land & Buildings’ 14 targets, Crown Castle and AvalonBay Communities were hit with similar critiques, with Litt taking to social media platform X to assert that long-standing underperformance should not be rewarded with multimillion-dollar pay packages.

6: Engine Capital

Arnaud Ajdler’s Engine Capital found nine targets across the U.S., Canada and the U.K. in 2025.

U.K.-based Smiths Group was one of the first to draw its attention with the activist pushing the engineering company to pursue a strategic review in a January public letter. By the end of the year and amid increasing activist pressure, Smiths had announced the sale of its Interconnect business to Molex Electronic Technologies also moved to divest its Detection arm in a deal with private equity firm CVC Capital. Engine won board representation at National Vision Holdings when the U.S.-based optical retailer added two directors in a March pact, naming of a new CEO a month later.

Engine Capital also set its sights on the board of Unifirst Corporation, where it eyed two seats and a sale of the company. While the incumbents were returned in a December vote, Cintas, which had been pursuing Unifirst for nearly four years, advanced a fresh takeover offer in December.

7: Dalton Investments

Dalton Investments solidified its standing as one of the most influential foreign activist investors in Japan in 2025, while broadening its reach across Asia. The year was anchored by a drawn-out and highly public campaign at Fuji Media Holdings, launched in the wake of a sexual misconduct scandal.

Elsewhere, Dalton came out against a proposed privatization at Toyota Industries, arguing for stronger capital efficiency and board independence. In healthcare, co-founder James Rosenwald won a board seat at Hogy Medical in June with the company later moving to enter buyout talks led by Carlyle Group.

Beyond company-specific campaigns, Dalton closed the year leading a coalition of more than 130 investors in a call for faster governance reform in Japan and expanded activism into South Korea. Revealing its intention to submit multiple shareholder proposals, Dalton stated that its main objectives are to ensure that a board engages in deadline-driven discussion and decision-making, and to make the collective will of all shareholders visible.

8. Carl Icahn

Even at 89, Carl Icahn remained a prominent force in shareholder activism in 2025, taking large stakes and exerting board influence across healthcare, energy, autos and utilities, often through negotiated settlements.

Having built a roughly 34% economic interest in Bausch Health Companies, the two sides reached a standstill agreement in May. Icahn later exited the position and his two board representatives resigned in August.

Energy, long a core focus for the veteran activist, again featured prominently. Icahn extended a tender offer for CVR Energy and secured a board seat for his son, Brett Icahn, following the announced retirement of the company’s CEO. Brett Icahn also joined the board of SandRidge Energy.

At auto-parts provider Dana, Icahn backed plans to divest the off-highway business and later exited after the company agreed to repurchase his stake.

Elsewhere, Icahn maintained influence through extended or revised agreements at Southwest Gas Holdings and American Electric Power and drove the merger of Enzon Pharmaceuticals with Icahn-controlled Viskase Companies.

9: Ananym Capital Management

Ananym Capital Management, founded by Charlie Penner and Alex Silver, targeted four companies in 2025 while often using M&A as the key lever.

At Henry Schein, where Ananym had reportedly being mulling a board bid having already engaged on a push for a spinoff of its medical distribution arm, the dental and medical supplies distributor saw its longtime CEO Stanley Bergman as well as company President James Breslawski both step down over the course of the year.

Another target, auto parts company LKQ, closed the year with an announcement that it had commenced a process to explore the potential sale of its Specialty segment as it simplifies its portfolio.

Turning its attention to Europe, the activist finished the year by acquiring a stake in Germany-based Siemens Energy with plans to press the company to sell its wind energy segment.

10: Palliser Capital

U.K.-based activist Palliser Capital cast a wide geographical net in 2025 finding its targets in six countries.

The firm was most active, however, in Japan, with campaigns at Keisei Electric Railway, Taiheiyo Cement Corporation, Toyo Tire Corporation and Japan Post Holdings Co.

At Keisei, having publicly engaged since late 2023, Palliser led a withhold campaign targeting CEO and Chair Toshiya Kobayashi as well as five management nominees with investors siding with management in a June vote. Elsewhere, Palliser saw its push for Rio Tinto Group to review its dual-listing status rejected by 80% of votes cast at the mining company’s two annual meetings in the U.K. and Australia. In November, the activist returned to Rio Tinto, urging it to make a counterbid for Canadian miner Teck Resources.

Palliser’s only U.S.-based target in the period was TripAdvisor with demands to carry out a strategic review and potentially consider a sale. Despite being joined in the stock by Starboard, Palliser’s campaign has yet to bear fruit.

The full report can be found here.