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Executive Summary:
We surveyed our IR clients about the impact of Covid-19 on investor
relations planning overall and their thoughts on hosting virtual IR
meetings going forward. Some of the highlights are as follows:
Over 95% of IR teams indicate that they are somewhat likely or
very likely to include virtual meetings in IR activities over the
next 12 months.
This compares with less than 45% of IR teams currently hosting
virtual IR activities
Over 50% of all IR virtual meetings are high stakes, involving
the CEO, CFO & IR team
IR teams are considering virtual NDRs, conferences and Investor
Days due primarily to 3 factors: convenience, time efficiency and
cost effectiveness
Virtual IR Best Practices:
Given that so many of our clients are exploring hosting more
virtual IR meetings or even investigating hosting their first one,
we would like to provide some best practice recommendations:
For typical virtual meetings with investors which may include
video or sharing of content and presentations, an enterprise
solution often is satisfactory to meet your requirements. There are
many of these tools available, and they include names we are all
increasingly familiar with like Zoom, Cisco WebEx, Adobe Connect
& Microsoft Live.
As investor engagements become more complex, i.e., multiple
participants in various locations, a more sophisticated solution
might be required. These companies, which include firms like Open
Exchange and Issuer Direct, specialize in ensuring that your event
is a success and handling both the logistical and technological
issues you might face.
These 3rd parties can ensure that different platforms are
integrated with one another and can coordinate as 'MC' for investor
meetings and virtual non-deal roadshows if the technical and
logistical challenges are more complex.
The higher profile the event, the more we recommend selecting a
partner you can trust. For events like virtual investor days and
AGM's, where there is no room for error, a professional virtual
meeting solution makes even more sense.
The decision to use more sophisticated solutions should depend
on the number of participants, presentation needs, tolerance for
potential glitches, and the technological capabilities of the IRO,
management team, IT staff and equipment. We are here to guide you
through the range of options and can help you to select the right
partner for your needs.
Q1: Has the emergence of COVID-19 changed current plans
(NDR, conference, other) for your IR program for the next 12
months?
The emergence of Covid-19 and the resulting business shutdowns
and travel restrictions have clearly had an impact on all aspects
of business. IR is no different, and over 97% expect their plans
for roadshows, conferences, and other IR activities to change over
the next 12 months as a result of Covid-19.
Q2: Has the emergence of COVID-19 produced interest in
implementing a virtual investor activity (NDR, conference, other)
as part of your IR program in the next 12 months?
A big part of the change of plans for investors will be the
implementation of virtual investor activities. Fully 9 out of 10
indicate that Covid-19 has increased their interest in virtual IR
activities for the next 12 months.
Q3: Do you currently host virtual activities to present
to investors?
Less than 45% currently host virtual activities with investors,
so the fact that 90% are now considering virtual IR activities is
significant and is likely to alter the landscape for the IR
function going forward.
Q4: Who are the usual corporate participants in your
virtual roadshows?
Another response which points to the significance of the move to
virtual is this response, which details who participates when a
corporation hosts a virtual IR activity. Over 55% of these involve
the CEO, CFO & IR (52%) or the CEO & IR (5%). And another
15% involve the CFO & IR. Around 20% are IR only. So, virtual
meetings are often with the highest-level executives within
companies and therefore critical to IR efforts.
Q5: How likely are you to embark upon a virtual investor
activity (NDR, conference, other) as part of your IR program in the
next 12 months?
Over 95% are somewhat or very likely to embark on virtual IR
activities in the next 12 months, which is yet another indication
that teams are very much moving in this direction.
Q6: Please rank the following in order of reasons you
choose (or would choose) to host investor events virtually from
most likely to least likely (1=least likely; 5=most
likely)
There are several reasons that IR teams indicate they choose or
are likely to choose to host virtual investor events, and the top
responses were around convenience, time efficiency and cost
effectiveness. This is not surprising, and these are the reasons
many have contemplated virtual IR activities for years.
Q7: Please rank the following list of investor
activities in terms of likelihood of hosting virtually vs.
in-person (1=least likely; 5=most likely)
When IR teams think of virtual meetings vs in-person, they are
most likely to feel comfortable hosting earnings calls (already
being done) and AGMs (being contemplated by many in current
environment). They are least likely to participate in conferences
or host an Investor Day virtually. Most likely, this is due to
complexity (conferences) and value of in-person exchange for
longer-term and more in-depth strategy discussions (Investor
Day).
Q8: How would you rate the effectiveness of virtual
investor activities vs in-person investor activities?
While many are considering virtual IR activities over the next
12 months, there is still a sense that these meetings are somewhat
(55%) or significantly less (15%+) effective than in-person
meetings. For that reason, we believe there will always be a
premium placed on in-person meetings. However, given the
convenience, time efficiency and cost effectiveness of virtual IR
meetings, it is likely that many IR teams will increasingly view
the upside as outweighing the downside for many meetings going
forward.
For more information, contact us at
michael.miller@ihsmarkit.com.
Posted 27 April 2020 by Michael Miller, Director, Investor Relations Advisory, IHS Markit
IHS Markit provides industry-leading data, software and technology platforms and managed services to tackle some of the most difficult challenges in financial markets. We help our customers better understand complicated markets, reduce risk, operate more efficiently and comply with financial regulation.