July 18, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
Perhaps as a way to improve his profession’s reputation, a hedge-fund manager — William Ackman, of Pershing Square Capital Management — has quietly announced a plan to tie a recent investment to charity.
According to DealBook, a New York Times blog edited by Andrew Ross Sorkin, a Times business reporter, Mr. Ackman recently acquired a large share of stock in the Target Corporation, the retail company in Minneapolis.
In the Securities and Exchange Commission filing, Mr. Ackman said that he will donate one-third of any profit he makes from the Target investment.
While the filing did not give the reason behind the philanthropy, the blog says, “it could be a preemptive effort to undercut the criticism, often leveled at activist hedge funds, that they are merely short-term profiteers.”
It also could be an attempt to show that hedge-fund managers are interested in philanthropy, despite being accused of being stingy by some charities.
Read The Chronicle‘s article about giving by people who run hedge funds and efforts to get them to donate more to charity.
What do you think of Mr. Ackman’s idea? Should more hedge-fund managers make similar pledges?
