ValueAct Capital

Mason Morfit is the Chief Executive Officer and Chief Investment Officer, responsible for all investment decisions. He assumed the CIO role from founder Jeffrey Ubben in 2017 and became CEO in 2020, completing a gradual succession. Ubben left ValueAct in 2020 to found Inclusive Capital Partners.

ValueAct relies on deep fundamental research and decades-long relationships with corporate executives and board members. The firm does not run a formal sourcing network or co-investor club. Its reputation as a constructive, long-term partner leads companies and other investors to bring opportunities directly to the partnership. The concentrated portfolio — typically 10 to 15 positions — means each investment is the product of years of sector research.

ValueAct operates as a registered investment adviser and functions as a long-duration activist fund, but it rejects the hostile tactics associated with traditional activism. The firm takes minority stakes and seeks board representation to influence strategy, governance, and capital allocation collaboratively. Its holding periods often exceed five years, which distinguishes it from event-driven activists who push for quick sales or breakups.

ValueAct invests primarily in publicly traded companies, but the firm's patient-capital approach and board-level engagement blur the line between public and private investing. The firm has not historically maintained a dedicated private equity or venture capital vehicle, though the ValueAct Spring Fund allows for investments across asset classes with a social-impact lens.

In 2013, ValueAct accumulated a roughly $2 billion stake in Microsoft and negotiated for a board seat as part of a cooperative agreement. Mason Morfit joined the Microsoft board and participated in the strategic shift toward cloud computing under CEO Satya Nadella. The position was widely cited as a model for constructive activism and generated substantial returns.

The ValueAct Spring Fund is a $500 million initiative launched in 2020 by Jeffrey Ubben to pursue investments that deliver both market-rate returns and measurable social or environmental impact. It operates alongside the main ValueAct Capital fund but has a distinct mandate and team. Ubben departed the main fund's CIO role to focus on Spring, signaling the firm's commitment to the strategy.

ValueAct avoids public proxy fights, poison-pen letters, and breakup demands. Instead, the firm seeks a single board seat and embeds one principal inside the company to work with management on strategy, operations, and capital allocation over multiple years. This principal-in-residence model is rare among activists, who typically deploy teams of consultants for short, transactional engagements.