Changes to roadshows, conferences and investor days
Three quarters of IROs have either already participated or plan to participate in a virtual roadshow this year, with IR teams having taken part in an average of 2.1 virtual roadshows so far in 2020. Almost half of IROs intend to participate in more virtual roadshows this year than before the outbreak of Covid-19, with just 24 percent planning fewer.
Regionally, the number of IR teams participating in virtual roadshows is highest in Europe, where 83 percent are doing so. The number of virtual roadshows is highest for Asian IR teams, which have attended an average of six so far this year. North American IR teams participate in the fewest virtual roadshows and are the least affected by Covid-19, with as many IROs saying they plan to attend fewer virtual roadshows this year as say they plan to attend more.
Larger companies are more engaged in virtual roadshows than smaller firms. More than eight in 10 IR teams at larger companies plan to participate in virtual roadshows this year, attending almost three times as many as IR teams at smaller companies.
Percentage who have participated/plan to participate in virtual roadshows
Number of virtual roadshows
Are these numbers more, less or the same as you planned prior to the Covid-19 outbreak?
Just 16 percent of IROs do not plan to participate in virtual investor conferences this year, with 54 percent having already done so. Globally, IR teams have participated in an average of 2.5 virtual investor conferences so far this year, with 56 percent saying they are planning to participate in more this year than in 2019.
There is considerable variation according to region, however, with Asian IR teams having already participated in nearly eight virtual conferences this year, compared with just over one for European teams and less than one for North American teams. The only notable difference according to company size is that nearly two thirds of IR teams at larger companies intend to increase their virtual investor conference participation this year, compared with just half of IR teams at smaller companies.
Percentage who have participated/plan to participate in virtual investor conferences
Number of virtual investor conferences
Almost a third of companies globally are planning to hold a virtual investor/analyst day over the course of this year, with 7 percent having already done so. There are big regional differences here, with half of Asian companies planning an investor day this year and a further 15 percent having already done so. This compares with just 14 percent of North American companies who have had, or are planning, an investor day this year.
There are no notable differences according to company size, with slightly more larger companies already having had a virtual investor day this year.
The key benefit of virtual events for IROs is their efficiency. Many mention the lack of need to travel for such events and the subsequent saving on time and cost. There is greater flexibility with these events and they are easier to manage around with less interruption for senior management members, should they participate.
Another notable advantage of virtual events is that they are not bound by geography. Some IROs participating in these events say they are able to reach a wider range of investors based in different and often more distant locations.
‘Much better communication with investors’ – CEO, China, energy
‘Best use of management time, given there’s no need to travel’ – head of IR, rest of world, healthcare
‘Higher number of investors participating’ – head of IR, Singapore, financials
‘Huge time savings, more executives enabled (I can’t get my CEO and CFO out on the road that often)’ – head of IR, US, consumer discretionary
‘Broader engagement per meeting, can fit in more in less time, more flexibility around otherwise ‘pre-set’ conferences’ – IRO, UK, technology
‘Can quickly reach many investors globally’ – head of IR, Philippines, industrials
‘Can reach a much greater audience and record the content’ – IRO, Bulgaria, technology
‘Can reach more investors, even in remote areas’ – head of IR, Switzerland, consumer staples
‘Easy organization, better availability of C-suite’ – head of IR, Germany, consumer staples
‘More time-effective and cost-effective as we don’t need to travel anywhere’ – IRO, France, technology
‘No longer geographically limited in investor outreach or limited to a specific time window’ – head of IR, US, real estate
‘Scalability: a group call sometimes has the same attendance as a full day of meetings at a conference’ – head of IR, Russia, financials
‘It's surprising just how useful and intimate people have been in virtual conferences’ – head of IR, UK, industrials
‘The show must go on and there’s more opportunity to engage with distant investors’ – head of IR, Canada, financials
‘Very efficient use of time, easy to interact with people in different geographies’ – head of IR, UK, real estate
‘Wider net to cast across the US investor base’ – head of IR, US, financials
The key challenge for IROs in virtual event participation is developing relationships with investors. Interpersonal interaction is harder online than at live events. Virtual events are less social and sociable than face-to-face meetings.
There are also technological challenges, especially with group meetings. Most teleconferencing software operates in a way that makes it easier for more vociferous individuals to dominate, which is harder to moderate virtually than in real life. The nature of most platforms means conversations flow less naturally than they do in face-to-face meetings.
‘It’s hard to make an emotional connection with investors’ – CFO, rest of world, healthcare
‘The joy of meeting and travel is not there’ – CFO, India, energy
‘Don’t get the same vibe as if sitting in an office and looking someone in the eye. I think there will be a place for in-person events because of this’ – head of IR, US, [no sector cited]
‘No personal contact is especially challenging when meeting for the first time’ – head of IR, Switzerland, industrials
‘Lack of ability to use handouts and presentations in a dial-in call, which some investors prefer’ – head of IR, Canada, financials
‘Communications with investors is more challenging. Less informal networking’ – head of IR, Canada, materials
‘Finding the time to meet all requests. Quality of conference attendees not great’ – head of IR, Australia, financials
‘More difficult to co-ordinate if you have multiple speakers: one person ends up leading the conversation and it’s harder to interject’ – head of IR, UK, real estate
‘Harder to get feedback; getting the tone right; makes targeting more important’ – head of IR, US, consumer discretionary
‘Investors are dropping out at the last minute’ – IRO, France, technology
‘Investors do not like to be on calls with others so you have to do more one-on-ones and small group meetings versus larger groups’ – head of IR, US, consumer discretionary
‘Lack of personal touch. Less interest on the part of new investors, seems to be existing investor focus’ – head of IR, US, financials
‘Lack of physical interaction, keeping meetings timely and in order, technical issues may prevail’ – head of IR, Thailand, real estate
‘We miss the face-to-face interaction. Group meetings are tougher as people speak over one another’ – head of IR, US, real estate
‘Most investors don’t use video, but even with video it’s hard to ascertain people’s body language. Dominant participants in group meetings can be even more dominant on calls’ – head of IR, rest of world, materials
‘Not meeting face to face you lose important casual interactions’ – head of IR, Sweden, financials
‘Social interaction, ability to ‘read’ the extent of the room, group meetings incrementally harder to build engaged discussion among varied participants’ – IRO, UK, technology
‘The challenges were the same with on-site conferences, especially how to manage concerns of analysts/investors’ – IRO, Indonesia, utilities
‘The personal contact is, in my opinion, very important, especially for new and potential investors’ – head of IR, Switzerland, technology
‘You can’t see the body language of the participants’ – head of IR, Switzerland, utilities
