Key Findings

There has been a notable reduction in the emphasis on capital markets-related challenges identified here compared with our pre-pandemic research in 2019/2020.
Macroeconomic challenges account for a fifth of all mentions in 2022 and rise to a quarter of anticipated challenges in 2023.
Macroeconomic challenges are less frequently mentioned by North American IROs for the last year compared with IROs in other regions.
IROs at smaller companies are more concerned with challenges relating to investors and the wider market.
IROs in industrials and materials companies registered the most challenges relating to internal issues in 2022 and anticipate the most such challenges in 2023.
IROs in the financials sector expect macroeconomic issues to become more of a concern in the year ahead.
The most important objective for IROs in the year ahead is to target new investors.
Enhancing engagement with existing shareholders is the next-most important objective, with 22 percent of IROs making it their top priority and 63 percent ranking it in their top three.
Targeting new investors is clearly the top priority for North American IROs in 2023, while Asian IROs see enhancing engagement with existing shareholders as their primary goal.
Half of mega-cap IROs include a rise in international share ownership in their top three objectives for 2023.
Targeting new investors and enhancing engagement with existing shareholders are the top two objectives in every sector.

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