The markets, it’s said, have a short memory. Usually the dictum relates to individual stocks, bonds or asset classes. But if the late-career beatification of Nelson Peltz and Carl Icahn is any guide, it might apply to people, too.
Peltz, founding partner of Trian Fund Management, and Icahn, of Icahn Enterprises, were given star billing on Wednesday at Delivering Alpha, the hedge fund conference co-hosted by Institutional Investor and CNBC at New York’s Pierre Hotel. Each obliged with displays of investment acuity, bluntness and wit as they expounded on their approach to managing money and explained their latest moves on high-profile targets: PepsiCo and Dell, respectively. To witness the rapturous audience reaction, it was easy to forget that these were once two of the most divisive figures in American business, widely derided as cutthroat corporate raiders and greenmail artists…
