Delegates were able to take part in three speed discussions during the course of the session, with each table hosted by a discussion leader who helped kick off and guide the conversation.
Macro/foreign exchange volatility and implications for targeting
Key takeaways:
‘There’s a big change in the content of discussion. A lot more of the interaction with investors is now macro-driven. Investors are going to meetings to discuss global macro at a high level; if they get round to what the company does, you’re lucky.’
‘In terms of fund flows into European companies, there are big flows into Spain, big flows into yield stocks and decent – albeit selective – North American interest.’
Targeting Asia and the Middle East
Key takeaways:
‘Sales and brand awareness are very important – without a lot of that, you have less of a chance of getting a one-on-one meeting with an investor.’
‘For both Asia and the Middle East, developing a relationship takes a lot longer than with European or North American investors.’
‘Hong Kong and Singapore are, as you would expect, the most popular destinations in Asia, along with Tokyo. Korea and Taiwan are down at the bottom of the list but growing in interest.’
Shareholder activism and corporate governance perception
Key takeaways:
‘In the US, where there is a lot more experience of activism, the perception is that it is very real and guarding against it is incredibly important. In the UK and Europe, that is less the case.’
‘I think shareholder activism will begin to spread across Europe as specialist advice gets given to predominantly US activists that have already taken all the low-hanging fruit from companies in the States. I think there will be more tie-ups between US activist investors and local advisers to push for more change across Europe.’
Transatlantic information flow: make sure North American investors don’t see blank screens
Key takeaways:
‘Most European companies distribute news only to their home market. There are a few companies that move their news outside to the US.’
‘A lot of people say they just rely on their broker for maintaining communications with the US market.’
‘We’re seeing a lot of growth in the US in the use of multimedia news releases, either as an infomercial or interim results update. It is much more believable to see a CFO or CEO speak about something rather than just read it in a release.’
Undiscovered investors: unintended consequence of regulatory changes
Key takeaways:
‘No one is really feeling any change just yet. But there is a tacit admission that there will be some changes coming in the not-too-distant future.’
‘In terms of unintended consequences, the general conclusion is that the bigger banks, bigger organizations and bigger asset managers are going to be the winners from the regulatory changes.’
‘The number of analysts covering companies in Europe has dropped 10 percent, but it has dropped 30 percent in the US where there isn’t the same kind of regulatory change taking place. This suggests there is a change in the economic model around broking more generally.’
Macro challenges: possible macroeconomic pitfalls of 2015-2016
Key takeaways:
‘Greece is something that’s interesting to talk about but isn’t very important to people’s businesses or investor communications.’
‘Everyone sympathizes with Greece being in a pretty difficult place, but there is also the widespread sense that there is worse to come. If Greece does leave the euro, no one is going to be better off.’
This article appeared in the fall 2015 print issue of IR Magazine
