Whole Foods

The activist enjoyed a quick big gain after putting the grocer in play — something other activists may look to repeat with new targets.

Like the homogenization and obfuscation that overwhelmed the U.S. food industry in recent decades, the finance world has an unhealthy lack of transparency.

The venture capital firm has struggled since 2000. Now fraud charges by a partner, Iftikar Ahmed, raise questions about who’s watching the shop.