Direct engagement should continue to increase
Direct contact level and appreciation
The most significant finding in this report is the importance of direct contact between company and investor, how appreciated this is by both parties and how much this has changed over the past few years.
Direct contact is the second-most common method of arranging meetings after sell-side corporate access, with IROs saying this method accounts for the arrangement of more than a third of their meetings and investors saying it accounts for four in 10 of theirs.
IRO satisfaction with arranging meetings directly with investors is overwhelmingly positive, with 93 percent giving a satisfaction rating of above five. Included in this are 84 percent of IROs who give a high satisfaction rating of eight or above and a third who give a perfect score of 10.
The primary reason for this satisfaction is clear when looking at the view from the buy side: nearly three quarters of buy-side investors and analysts say they are more likely to take a meeting if arranged by direct contact with the company, while nearly half say they are much more likely to do so.
Changes in direct engagement
Nearly eight in 10 IROs say they have become more likely to reach out to investors over the past few years, with just under four in 10 saying they have become much more likely. This outreach has been received positively by investors, as 54 percent have become more likely to respond to direct approaches from companies, with nearly a quarter being much more likely to respond.
Investors themselves have become more proactive with direct engagement. More than six in 10 have become more likely to directly reach out to companies, with three in 10 much more likely. Understandably, the engagement has been welcomed by IROs, with three quarters having become more likely to respond to investor outreach and 46 percent much more likely to do so.
Comments on direct engagement
When both IROs and investors are asked to comment on direct engagement and what it means, they often state this as an existential fact, a new reality in the changing face of corporate access. Where they express sentiment toward direct engagement, it is generally positive.
The relative decline of sell-side corporate access from the dominant position it once held is viewed primarily with acceptance rather than appreciation or regret. Both IROs and investors appear to embrace what they see as new opportunities afforded to them by increased direct engagement.
Some buy-side outfits, particularly in North America, have developed in-house corporate access facilities. Where this is the case, the buy-side corporate access desk often takes over from direct contact. Most buy-side corporate access differs from sell-side corporate access in that it is often more to do with logistics and co-ordination than targeting and research. Both IROs and investors appreciate direct engagement, and in-house buy-side corporate access operations would do well to take note of this.
Asia and Europe
North America and rest of world
Buy side
