Stockpickr: Trade Stocks Like an Activist

Three, these funds usually publish their research in 13D filings with the Securities and Exchange Commission in order to help convince shareholders to vote their way.

Here's a list of the top activist funds that are worth following (click on each link to see their top holdings):

• Shamrock, which is run by Stanley Gold and Roy Disney (yes, that Disney). Its recent successes include Intrado, now acquired by West Corp. (WSTC Quote), and Disney(DIS Quote). They've recently gone activist on Coinstar(CSTR Quote), disclosing a 6.28% stake in the company a month and a half ago.
• Barington Capital, which hasn't had a bad investment since 2001. According to DealBreaker magazine, the fund has never had a negative investment.
• Jana Partners, a $5 billion activist fund based in San Francisco. The fund, run by Barry Rosenstein, has a value-oriented and research-intensive approach to special-situation public securities.
• Carl Icahn, among the world's richest people, is going wild with recent activism in Motorola(MOT Quote) and an offer to buy WCI Communities(WCI Quote).
• Chapman Capital, an extreme activist fund that normally files very detailed 13Ds. Chapman has recently called for eSpeed(ESPD Quote), which provides a number of financial technology products, to sell itself.