IR Benchmarking
Helping a new management team set expectations for investor access, one Intelligence Council member provided the new CEO and CFO with benchmark data regarding how often they should be going out to visit with the investment community. He turned to various reports in the Intelligence Council research library to highlight not only what other companies their size were doing, but what the investment community expected. He used this information to craft their management access strategy for the year.
Guidance Practices
As a result of one member's interest in understanding how companies were planning to change their guidance, Rivel conducted a Rapid Action survey among more than 300 IROs over a three-day period. The results helped members compare their future guidance practices to other companies, ultimately offering some peace of mind.
Non-Deal Roadshows
An Intelligence Council member reached out to Rivel via our client gateway and asked how often IROs are setting up their own NDRs. We were able to provide some data that the member found helpful and also put out a Rapid Action question on their behalf. Within 48 hours, we received 63 responses to their question and were able to provide valuable insight to the IRO.
Earnings Call
One Intelligence Council member was interested in revamping their earnings calls. They felt like their current format had become stale and could use a facelift. Their first step was to identify what characterizes a best-in-class earnings call. The Intelligence Council was one source they turned to for an in-depth and objective understanding of what the buy-side values most during a call. Our data allowed the IRO to draft a set of recommendations for management that was based on fact, not just a hunch. As a result, they reduced the total number of speakers presenting during the call, thereby reducing the overall time allocated to presentations. This allowed more time for Q&A, which aligns closely to what the buy-side prefers.
Investor Day
Based on information that one member gleaned from the Intelligence Council report on investor day best practices and the ensuing discussion at our December conference, she was able to put together a program that she feels will resonate with her audience. How does she use the Council beyond that? She says it's a great tool for when she gets pushback from her CEO and CFO. She cited a recent instance from our sell-side report on how the buy-side uses the sell-side: "Because there is both qualitative and quantitative data, and it's not just 'my opinion,' it carries a lot of weight."
Board Communications
On a check-in call with an IC member, they mentioned that our most recent investor day report from the investment community armed her with answers to questions she faced from her board specifically about the topic. "I use your research in a few different ways, but one example in particular is that I read your investor day report prior to my board meeting. Without notice, the board asked several questions about investor days, and because of the IC report I was able to answer all their questions." Going forward she is going to "arm" herself with our data by reading through larger reports that the Intelligence Council publishes before board meetings.
Staffing
As passive investors become more prevalent, we have received various questions regarding how IR departments would be affected by their growing presence. As an Intelligence Council member considered a possible replacement for a recent departure, they asked whether or not the existence of passive investors in their company's stock would affect the IR department’s staffing. Their initial assumption was that they could afford to cut back on their staff size because they wouldn’t have to speak to as many active investors. We proceeded to pose their question anonymously to IC members to see their thoughts. As we reviewed the results of the survey, no one in the Council believed passive investing would have an effect on their staffing, but rather believed that MiFID II’s effect on the sell-side could present a need for extra personnel to compensate for the lack of research and access to their active investors.
IPOs / Spin-offs
An Intelligence Council member was recruited to head up a new IR department for an upcoming IPO. The member reached out to the IC team and inquired whether we could ask the membership some questions and make any connections to people who have gone through an IPO or spin-off. We posed a few Rapid Action questions and were able to connect this member with those respondents who have had experience taking a company through a similar transaction.
