IR Monitor – 07 January 2026

In this week’s newsletter:

• Companies marked a three-year high in 2025 with >$1tn asset sales, the FT reports
• Bloomberg’s Matt Levine on the “Big Three” and IPO underpricing
• Are everyday traders back and here to stay? asks The Wall Street Journal
• AI’s impact on corporate disclosure: the Harvard Business Review suggests new tools are enabling anyone to “infer strategic insights from seemingly innocuous information”
• Moving on down: Glass Lewis on investor sentiment towards climate
• And finally … How CEOs let down their hair; The FT on the surprising hobbies of CEOs

This week’s news

Activists push break-ups

Last year saw nearly 7,000 transactions involving an asset sale or divestment, the highest level since 2021, the FT points out. Activist investors have been named as the key driver of this trend, since targeting conglomerates as break ups is seen as a way to unlock cash and efficiencies. In particular, the consumer sector has seen a lot of divestments as well as the industrials industry. Bankers quoted in the article cite the upside of “simplification” that carve-outs can provide and expect the deals to continue. It remains to be seen whether the trend will extend to the technology sector, which has its fair share of conglomerates. 

Bloomberg’s Matt Levine on the “Big Three” and IPO underpricing

In a recent Bloomberg Money Stuff newsletter, Matt Levine wonders if the ‘Big Three’ institutional investors – consisting of BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street and holding approximately 22% of the average large-cap US-listed company – are impacting the market and, specifically, IPO pricing. According to a research paper he cites, “The Price of Power: The Big Three and IPO Underpricing,” by Adi Libson, Danielle Chaim and Yevgeny Mugerman, “concentrated market power” can be viewed as a major force behind IPO pricing and could possibly be considered “collusive behaviour….potentially violating antitrust laws.” Levine asks if investment bankers might be telling their clients who seek to go public they need to choose a price that is attractive to the largest investors. 

Are everyday traders here to stay?

Retail investors were a force to contend with during the 2021 meme-stock era but the WSJ reflects on their enduring impact in 2025. They once again became a dominant, price-setting force across global markets, driving record inflows into stocks, ETFs, options and alternative assets, and helping propel the S&P 500 to a 16% gain. Boardrooms and IPOs are also feeling it. The CEO of Opendoor was defenestrated following intense outside agitation from retail shareholders around a flatlining share price and criticism from one of its founders. Companies preparing for IPO are setting aside more shares for retail investors. The expectation is that people are more comfortable now managing their own money and therefore retail investors will continue having a significant amount of influence. 

AI’s impact on corporate disclosure

The Harvard Business Review has highlighted how AI is reshaping the corporate disclosure environment, arguing that it has become harder to manage in the age of AI with external stakeholders now possessing a novel ability to get clarity on information which was previously hidden by organisations. HBR suggests that AI has democratised market expertise, moving corporate disclosure away from a select group of releases which, historically, could be carefully curated by managers to ensure that sensitive information was protected and secrecy preserved. With AI tools becoming more adept at analysing earnings calls, regulatory filings and even informal corporate signals, the distinction between “material” and “non-material” information is increasingly blurred and here AI can draw inferences from information which, in the past, has not been viewed as competitively sensitive. HBR notes that this raises the stakes for consistency, clarity and governance around disclosures, as AI-driven analysis can amplify inconsistencies or unintended signals. 

Moving on down: Glass Lewis on investor sentiment towards climate

Glass Lewis’s highlights from the 2025 proxy season show that support for climate matters has decreased. This is due to several factors, including the “anti-ESG movement”, however it has also been affected by the fact that over the years environmental stewardship has become embedded in companies’ governance frameworks. There is a distinct difference across the regions – with European companies and shareholders seeking more robust commitments to ESG while the US is going in the opposite direction. Glass Lewis believes shareholders will continue to consider companies’ impact on the climate but more through the lens of financial materiality. 

And finally … How CEOs let down their hair: the surprising hobbies of CEOs

CEOs are built differently – the gruelling hours, harsh criticism and high stakes require grit, hard work and a brilliant IQ & EQ. But, just like us, they also like to have fun! The Financial Times interviewed several senior-level executives to find out how they enjoy themselves and take it easy. Their hobbies include writing crime novels (Dame Elizabeth Corley), taekwondo (Adena Friedman) and drumming (Ivan Espinosa). In the words of the FT, talk of hobbies “gives them a chance to flaunt qualities investors, boards and the public prize, but cannot easily measure”.