Study Purpose | Rivel Research Group

Background and Study Purpose

As the architect of corporate strategy, preeminent manager and catalyst behind shareholder returns, the CEO is unquestionably the force behind a company’s investment appeal, as well as its chief advocate. Essentially, the CEO is the custodian of the corporate image, brand and investor confidence which, in concert with financial performance, drive investment decisions. Scores of research studies have testified to the significance sell- and buy-side investment professionals attach to communications emanating from the CEO office. In fact, recent work by Rivel Research Group has shown that many portfolio managers will not take a position in a company’s stock until they have met with or listened to the CEO on three separate occasions.

The purpose of this study is to better understand and delineate the collective mindset of CEOs as it relates to investor communications and the challenges and/or frustrations involved. The research has been conceived to add further context to and enrich the investor communications insights emanating from a longitudinal series of landmark, national studies commissioned by Rivel Research Group among the constituencies whose attitudes and practices shape investment decision-making today (CEOs, analysts, portfolio managers and investor relations officers). The first two projects were completed in 2005 among buy-side professionals and IROs and laid the informational foundation on which the current CEO research is based. As such, it represents a crucial third leg to the investor communications model – the construct from which investment insight flows at the discretion of the CEO, to the investor relations officer and, ultimately, to the key audiences who use the data to support investment recommendations and decisions.

More specifically, this CEO project has been designed to:

Clarify the nature of the CEO’s relationship with the investment community and how these officers define their communications mandate.
Examine how growing regulatory oversight, heightened calls for disclosure and increasingly uncertain economic trends are impacting corporate communications and the manner in which CEOs convey their company’s investment appeal.
Ascertain the extent to which CEOs believe their company is valued appropriately and the perceived nature of their rapport with the Street.
Identify the key markers by which CEO performance, as well as effective investor communications, should be measured.
Promote mutually beneficial relationships between CEOs, IROs and investment professionals which invariably stem from building a greater understanding of each other’s needs, constraints and challenges.

Background and Study Purpose

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