Anthony Bolton, one of the UK's most respected fund managers, has joined a small but growing chorus of concern among long-only fund managers by criticising the activist investor model. Yet Fidelity itself is no stranger to public agitation for change at the companies it invests in.

In a comment written in the UK press today , Bolton attacked UK drinks and confectionery group Cadbury Schweppes for bowing to pressure from Nelson Peltz, a US activist, to split itself into two.