Allocate your time and resources effectively
Sell-side analysts are one of the most important stakeholder groups for IR teams, playing a vital role in getting a company’s message out to the market and supporting investor engagement. In this best practice report, we hear from leading IROs about how they work with the sell side to achieve the biggest value for their IR programs.
Maximizing time and resources Time is a notoriously precious commodity within the IR function, meaning IROs need to strike the right balance when it comes to how they divide their resources between different sell-side analysts. Neil Frohnapple is director of investor relations at Timken, a US-based global manufacturer of bearings and industrial motion products.
Sharing how he tackles the issue, he says: ‘Timken has 11 analysts who cover the stock and we try to participate in at least one non-deal roadshow or conference with each analyst every year. This provides an opportunity to spend quality one-on-one time with them outside of normal post-earnings call conversations.
‘We also spend more time as needed with the analysts who are newer to following the stock, to help speed up the learning curve for them and enhance our relationship.’
Calling on the knowledge of external stakeholders can help IROs determine where best to prioritize their time and efforts, according to Andrew Hanson, director of investor relations, corporate communications and ESG at Victrex, a UK-based supplier of high-performance polymers.
‘We try to balance time between everyone but, ultimately, for those who have a conviction position – either buy side or sell side – we will try to ensure they have the fundamental points,’ he says. ‘We do also take some viewpoints from key buy-side analysts or fund managers on who they regard as important sell-side influencers.’
Liz Scorer is head of group investor relations at sustainability-led alternative assets and small to medium-sized enterprise investment manager Foresight Group.
Giving her insight, she says: ‘We prioritize time we allocate to the sell side according to where we see the biggest impacts. This includes evaluating those on the list who are achieving good volumes and responding to those who are proactive with us.
‘We also examine how analysts are looking at our business models and devote time to targeting any areas of misunderstanding through measures such as webinars or a deep-dive session to address inconsistencies.’
We spend more time as needed with analysts who are newer to following the stock, to help speed up the learning curve
