This paper studies whether institutional investors trade on 14 well documented stock market anomalies. We show that there is an increase in anomaly-based trading when information about the anomalies is readily available through academic publications and the release of necessary accounting data. This finding is more pronounced among hedge funds and institutions with high turnover, that is, the subset of investors who likely have the abilities and incentives to act on the anomalies. We directly relate the increase in trading to the observed decay in post-publication anomaly returns. Our results support the role of institutional investors in the arbitrage process and in improving market efficiency.

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Research Question/Issue: This study examines activism campaigns where multiple activists simultaneously target the same firm-which we term clustered shareholder activism. Despite the growing influence of shareholder activism on corporate governance, the clustered activism phenomenon has previously only been addressed indirectly, anecdotally, or with limited data. We consider cost sharing motives for clustered activism and whether the phenomenon exerts a positive or negative impact on the performance of the target firm.Research Findings/Insights: Using a large dataset of shareholder activism events at U.S. firms, we find that clustered activism campaigns are more common at larger firms and among geographically proximate activists, which is consistent with our prediction that activists cluster to reduce the costs associated with activism campaigns. Furthermore, we find that clustered activism produces elevated profitability and abnormal returns, which is consistent with our prediction that activists cluster to address principal-agency costs.Theoretical/Academic Implications: Our study provides some of the first theoretical and empirical evidence on the clustered activism phenomenon. We contribute to the understanding of the role of shareholder activism by considering their effect on principal-agency and principal-principal problems. Our results also contribute to the literature that examines factors relating to the success of shareholder activism by documenting the effect of clustered activism on activism costs and target firm performance.Practitioner/Policy Implications: Our study adds to the debate among practitioners and regulators on the merits (or lack thereof) of clustered activism. Our findings suggest that a regulatory approach that encourages clustered activism can benefit shareholders. Video Abstract: https