Forward Air Doubles Down Amid Heightened Interest From Activists Following scrutiny from an activist investor group, which includes the company's founder and former CFO, management at asset-light trucking and logistics company Forward Air (NASDAQ: FWRD ) doubled down on its approach to the business during its fourth-quarter call with analysts Friday. The investor group led by Ancora Advisors issued an open letter to shareholders Wednesday, voicing discontent with the current direction of the company and announcing its decision to nominate four candidates for election to the board. The letter followed weeks of dialogue between investors and the board, which were unable to reach an agreement. At the core, the group has concerns with Forward's capital allocation strategy, which has continued to diversify beyond the company's legacy airport-to-airport expedited trucking offering. Specifically, the group believes investments and acquisitions in drayage and intermodal are driving margins and returns lower. Forward's core expedited less-than-truckload offering has seen operating ratios deteriorate, while competitors are seeing improvement.