HSBC Holdings (NYSE:HBC) board members and executives may find themselves in trouble soon after Knight Vinke revealed a campaign to change the bank's strategic direction. The activist hedge fund has enforced change in large companies like Shell and Gaz de Frace before by rallying support of other large investors while holding just a small stake of its own.

Knight Vinke said in a statement late Thursday that it intends to engage in "constructive dialog" with Europe's largest bank over the "future direction and governance of the group". The hedge fund had reportedly already held discussions with the chairman and finance director beginning in mid-May.

Analysts and investors have questioned the timing of this statement, however, given that the bank has already shifted its focus to the emerging markets and has been one of the best performing banks in the market over the past months. In the past, the hedge fund has managed to rally support because the company's were not enacting change and were performing below their potential.

Whether or not the activist hedge fund can rally other investors to make changes remains to be seen, but this is definitely a stock to watch in the meantime!

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