Hello and welcome to another MLEX podcast. I'm Laurel Henning, senior correspondent, and I'm speaking to you from our offices in Sydney.

As we reach the end of the first month of 2019 and any denial that the new year is underway

has been completely set aside, it's a good moment to consider what might be some of our biggest

talking points for the year ahead.

Looking back on 2018, in the area of activist investment, it was a roller coaster of a year.

Activist funds launched more campaigns and won more board seats last year than ever before.

But in terms of financial performance, and let's be honest, that's where the real success is measured,

2018 was the worst year for activist funds since 2011.

The pressure is on then for 2019, and specifically for funds to add value to their portfolios, and that will surely be influencing funds when choosing the targets, their next targets,

as well as deciding the tactics they will use when they reach the company gates.

Here to discuss what lies ahead for activist investment, particularly in the US,

is senior correspondent Jason Booth, and Jason joins me from our offices in New York. Hello, Jason.

Hello, Laura. Jason, it's safe to say 2018 was a bit of a rough year for activist funds when it comes to their balance sheets.

How did this year sit historically compared with other

years? And is there any particular reason for why funds struggled for financial success in 2018?

Well, as you point out, as far as returns are concerned, it was the worst on record since 2012 and

before that, I mean, certainly 2011 and before that 2008.

And, you know, the reasons for that are several.

For one, with activist funds, they tend to have very concentrated portfolios.

They don't often have a lot of stocks in their portfolio, and they tend to take risks on companies that are already in trouble.

So as a result, their losses tend to be sharper in the short term, at least, than other

investors. And some of the markets or some of the industries that they typically were targeting

...