© Copyright Acquisition International 2025 - All Rights Reserved.

Article Image - 2016’s Most Innovative Hedge Fund
Posted 31st July 2016

2016’s Most Innovative Hedge Fund

Barington Capital Group, L.P. is a New York based investment firm founded by James A. Mitarotonda. Since 2000, Barington has managed a valueoriented activist strategy through its flagship fund.

Mouse Scroll AnimationScroll to keep reading

Let us help promote your business to a wider following.

2016’s Most Innovative Hedge Fund
Image

2016’s Most Innovative Hedge Fund

Barington Capital Group, L.P. is a New York based investment firm founded by James A. Mitarotonda. Since 2000, Barington has managed a valueoriented activist strategy through its flagship fund, Barington Companies Equity Partners, L.P. We spoke to James A. Mitarotonda to find out more about Barington and how his fund has consistently achieved stellar results.

Barington’s highly experienced team is led by Mr. Mitarotonda, a veteran activist investor, and includes George (Geordie) Hebard, who previously worked with activists Carl Icahn and Blue Harbour; Jared Landaw, an expert in corporate governance and shareholder activism; Christopher Pappano, who recently returned to the firm after working with family office Richmond Hill; senior analyst Mashrib Zahid, a former investment banker with Deutsche Bank and Lazard; and Marjorie Kaufman, a seasoned marketing and IR professional with investment banking experience at Bankers Trust and Prudential Securities.

Mitarotonda highlights the fact that Barington’s team draws upon extensive strategic, operating and boardroom experience to assist companies in designing and implementing initiatives to improve long-term shareholder value.

Barington’s fund generally maintains a concentrated portfolio of 10-15 core positions in publicly traded U.S. companies with a market capitalisation typically between $500 million and $5 billion. Since inception, their fund has generated mostly double digit returns and handily outperformed the S&P 500 and Russell 2000 Indices, according to an investor.

Mitarotonda says that over the past 16 years, Barington has made more than 57 activist investments in small and midcap U.S. companies, with a focus on retail, consumer and industrial companies. Its most recent activist investments have included Avon, Chico’s, Darden, Ebix, The Eastern Company and The Children’s Place.

“Our approach is to establish sizeable, long-term positions at underperforming companies where we can function as a value-added shareholder to help affect change and improve value,” explains Mitarotonda. He goes on to say that “virtually all of the companies we have worked with have shown a meaningful improvement in shareholder value following our involvement.”

Many of Barington’s investments have also shown significant improvement in their corporate governance. Among other things, Barington has helped facilitate governance improvements such as enhanced transparency, the implementation of majority voting standards for the election of directors, and the repeal of “poison pill” rights plans and classified boards of directors.

When asked why governance is such an important part of Barington’s focus, Mitarotonda responded by saying that he feels that companies that are committed to good corporate governance practices tend to perform better. “Good corporate governance helps ensure that management and shareholder interests are properly aligned and that shareholders are represented by directors who are committed to representing their best interests in the boardroom,” states Mitarotonda. “Directors at many of the underperforming companies we’ve looked at often fail to live up to that important responsibility, especially when the boards are entrenched.”

Weaker governance can be more of an issue at small and midcap companies. “Large companies are typically subject to a higher level of scrutiny and have moved faster to address governance weaknesses,” Mitarotonda explains. Barington has also successfully obtained reforms in executive compensation to “better align CEO pay and incentives with shareholder interests,” he says.

Barington says it has obtained more than 42 board seats for its nominees. “We find that when we propose new directors for a company, we spark a healthy debate about what is best for the shareholders,” he goes on to say. Mitarotonda himself has served on more than a dozen corporate boards and has helped numerous public companies improve their long-term financial performance, corporate governance and executive compensation practices.

Finally, how is it possible to differentiate your business from that of your competitors? The last word goes to Mitarotonda, who concludes “We are highly selective in our investment targets and frequently spend six to nine months researching a new opportunity before we invest. We also spend a considerable period of time working with the firm’s advisory board members and network of industry experts to design a plan to unlock a company’s value potential.”

The positive impact of Barington’s work is clearly visible in the firm’s long record of success.

Company:
Barington Capital Group, L.P.
Name: James A. Mitarotonda
Email: jmitarotonda@barington.com
Web: www.barington.com
Address: 888 Seventh Avenue,
17th Floor, New York, NY 10019
Phone: +1 (212) 974 5708



Categories: Finance


You Might Also Like
Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Data Quality Holds the Key to Greater Profits, Finds Report
Finance
18/03/2015Data Quality Holds the Key to Greater Profits, Finds Report

A new report by Experian confirmed that while businesses are increasingly aware of the potential of their data – with estimates that it could improve profitability by up to 15%- more than 90% still find data improvement challenging.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Plesner Advise Solina in Acquisition of Paulig Flavours Division
Legal
07/05/2015Plesner Advise Solina in Acquisition of Paulig Flavours Division

Solina Group (“Solina”) has signed a binding agreement to acquire from Paulig its INDUSTRIAL FLAVOURING DIVISION. Paulig Group (“Paulig”) is the selling majority shareholder. The IFD management will join Solina Group.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
CEO of the Year for the Biotech Industry
Leadership
02/02/2016CEO of the Year for the Biotech Industry

Celsis is a world leader in rapid methods serving the pharmaceutical, home & beauty, dairy, beverage and food industries, with over 800 installations in 65 countries around the world.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
4 Key Considerations When Investing in a Brand Ambassador
News
26/07/20224 Key Considerations When Investing in a Brand Ambassador

It’s no secret that social media has taken over the world. What started as a way for people to connect with friends and family has turned into a powerful marketing tool for businesses of all sizes. And one of the most effective ways to use social media f

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
What is the Future of Digital Marketing?
Innovation
20/10/2021What is the Future of Digital Marketing?

Companies are facing a period of change, in many respects. First, doing business is quite different in a post-COVID-19 world. Some new ways of buying will remain forever. This will need to be addressed in the way companies market their products and services. A

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Early Easter Puts a Spring in Retailers’ Steps
Strategy
24/04/2015Early Easter Puts a Spring in Retailers’ Steps

David McCorquodale, UK head of retail comments on the benefits UK Retail saw during the early Easter.

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Boyas Drafting & Design: Building a Bright Future in the Glazing Industry
Innovation
17/11/2017Boyas Drafting & Design: Building a Bright Future in the Glazing Industry

Boyas Drafting & Design: Building a Bright Future in the Glazing Industry

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Suing a Hospital for Malpractice: A Guide
News
29/08/2023Suing a Hospital for Malpractice: A Guide

A core principle of any kind of medical practice is to safeguard patient well-being. Sadly, it’s not rare to find instances of medical malpractice and negligence. When medical care falls short of accepted standards in any way, the patient has the right t

Read Full PostRead - Eye Icon
Defense Experts in the Areas of DNA Profiling
Innovation
26/11/2018Defense Experts in the Areas of DNA Profiling

Dean A. Stetler and Associates, Inc provides their expertise and knowledge of biological science, particularly of DNA profiling, to criminal defenses. Recently, we profiled both Dean Stetler and Dean A. Stetler and Associates, Inc to discover more about the aw



Our Trusted Brands

Acquisition International is a flagship brand of AI Global Media. AI Global Media is a B2B enterprise and are committed to creating engaging content allowing businesses to market their services to a larger global audience. We have a number of unique brands, each of which serves a specific industry or region. Each brand covers the latest news in its sector and publishes a digital magazine and newsletter which is read by a global audience.

Arrow