Which formats best suit different events?
Six in 10 firms hosted roadshows in the second half of 2021. In total, 57 percent hosted virtual roadshows and 13 percent went on the road in person. During this period, six times as many virtual as in-person roadshows were held.
Regionally, North American companies were the most likely to hold virtual roadshows, while European companies were the most likely to go on the road in person, although Asian companies held the highest average number of in-person roadshows. Mega-cap companies hosted the most roadshows in both formats.
The overall average number of roadshows held in the second half of 2021 was 2.8, compared with 3.3 in H2 2019. This means that the virtual format has not fully compensated for the loss of in-person activity during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Between one in five and one in four companies held an investor day in the second half of 2021, with 19 percent holding a virtual investor day and just 5 percent holding one in person. Three times as many investor days were held virtually as were held in person.
Asian firms held the highest number of both in-person and virtual investor days in this time, while North American companies held the lowest number in both formats. According to company size, mid-cap firms held the most virtual and in-person investor days.
The average total number of investor days held in H2 2021 was 0.4, compared with 0.5 held in the second half of 2019. This means the virtual format has effectively compensated for the loss of in-person investor days in this time.
Less than a quarter of companies hosted site visits in H2 2021, with 18 percent hosting in-person visits and just 6 percent hosting a virtual site visit. The number of visits held in person was two and a half times the number of virtual site visits.
More than a third of North American companies hosted a site visit in the second half of 2021, with three in 10 holding these visits in person. Mid-cap companies hosted the highest number of both virtual and in-person visits.
While companies overall hosted an average of two site visits in the last half of 2019, this fell to an average of 0.7 in H2 2021. It is understandable that the virtual format has not adequately replaced in-person site visits given the location-based nature of these events.
More than seven in 10 companies attended investor conferences in the second half of 2021, with 68 percent attending a virtual conference and 19 percent attending conferences in person. The average number of virtual conferences attended in this time was 4.2, more than eight times the number of in-person investor conferences.
Although North American companies are the most likely to have attended both virtual and in-person conferences, the average number attended for both formats is highest among Asian companies. Mid-cap companies have attended the most and small caps the fewest conferences in both virtual and in-person formats.
The average number of investor conferences attended in the second half of 2021 was 4.8, compared with 4.2 in H2 2019. The result of the switch to virtual in this time has been to increase the number of investor conferences that companies typically attend.
Investor days are the most-valued virtual corporate access event among investors. When asked to rate each event on a scale of zero to 10, where zero is not at all positive and 10 is extremely positive, 83 percent give a positive rating of above five, with almost six in 10 giving a high rating of eight or above. Investor days are the only corporate access event where the virtual format is rated more highly by investors – with a score of eight or above – than the in-person format.
Although more investors give a positive rating to virtual roadshows than to investor conferences, more give a high positive rating to virtual investor conferences. Of the four event types, site visits are the lowest-rated corporate access event to be done virtually – but even here more than two thirds of investors give a positive rating, with 45 percent giving a high rating of 8+/10.
With the exception of investor days, the sell side rates virtual corporate access events lower than the buy side.
Among the buy side, investor conferences are the most-valued event in the virtual format, with virtual investor days having more or less the same ratings as roadshows and site visits.
More than seven in 10 North American investors give a high rating of 8+/10 to virtual investor days. They are not as highly rated by European and Asian investors, which give greater appreciation to investor conferences and roadshows as virtual events.
When asked to rate each event on a scale of zero to 10, where zero is not at all positive and 10 is extremely positive, all in-person corporate access events have high positivity ratings from investors. Site visits are the most appreciated, with four in five giving a high rating of eight or more and just under half giving a perfect 10 score.
Investor conferences are rated more highly than roadshows when in person, receiving a high 8+/10 rating from 78 percent and a score of 10 from 19 percent. Investor days are the least-appreciated in-person corporate access event, with just 42 percent of investors giving a rating of eight or above.
