What IROs think about website engagement with retail investors
Globally, 62 percent of IROs view their website as effective for engaging with retail investors, compared with 13 percent who consider them ineffective. As with institutional investors, IROs are not terribly enthusiastic in this view, with just 9 percent considering them very effective.
North American IROs are the least convinced of the suitability of websites for engaging with retail investors: a minority consider them effective, compared with more than two thirds of European and Asian IROs. Large-cap IROs stand out as the most satisfied with their websites as a means of engaging with retail investors, while 17 percent of small-cap IROs consider them ineffective, the highest of any cap size.
Below is a selection of comments on why IROs find websites effective for engaging with retail investors. General reasons given for their effectiveness in this area tend to focus on the ease of reporting on a website, especially the ability to provide large amounts of information in a clear and concise way.
Just 13 percent of IROs find websites ineffective for engaging with retail investors. Of these, four in 10 also find them ineffective for engaging with institutional investors and often express dissatisfaction with their own company’s website in particular.
Below is a selection of reasons given why IR websites are ineffective for engaging with retail investors.
The most popular way for IROs to make sure their website content engages the needs of retail investors is through peer website analysis. More than six in 10 IROs conduct such analysis, compared with just under half who get direct feedback from retail investors themselves and 22 percent who consult with external advisers.
The number directly consulting retail investors on the appropriateness of the website content is considerably lower than those directly contacting institutional investors for the same purpose. This is likely due to the generally more regular contact and closer relationships IR professionals tend to have with institutional rather than retail investors.
European IROs are the most likely to conduct peer website analysis and consult external advisers. Smaller companies are slightly more likely to directly contact retail investors, while the number of IROs using third-party consultants increases with cap size.
While the majority of companies have not recently made changes to their website to make it inclusive of retail investors, a sizable minority – 47 percent – have done so in the past two years. More than two thirds of mega-caps and 54 percent of small-cap companies have made such changes in this time, compared with just over four in 10 mid-cap firms and 43 percent of large-cap companies.
North American companies are considerably further behind their European and Asian counterparts on this issue. While almost six in 10 Asian companies have updated their websites in the past two years to make them more retail investor-friendly, less than a quarter of North American companies have done the same.
