Senior management teams at smaller-sized companies are most prone to engage directly with investors, finds new research from IR Magazine. Seventy-one percent of small-cap CEOs and 59 percent of CFOs take part in company roadshows, a figure well above the global averages of 46 percent and 55 percent, respectively, according to the IR Magazine Global Roadshow Report, sponsored by Bank of America Merrill Lynch.
CFOs from other cap sizes are more likely than CEOs to attend roadshows: mid-cap CEOs participate in 48 percent of corporate access events, large-cap CEOs 37 percent, and mega-cap chief executives 34 percent.
Geographically, the study reveals that while CEOs of North American companies attend a majority of roadshows, those in other regions are much less likely to be seen at these events, with a 38 percent attendance rate for European chief executives and a 33 percent rate for Asians. This may be because a majority of roadshows organized by North American firms are domestic and therefore easier to attend, the report suggests.
The study confirms that finance directors hitting the road remains a common practice, with few departures from the 55 percent global average among regions and cap sizes. Mega-cap CFOs’ and Asian CFOs’ attendance rates are the lowest at 44 percent and 46 percent, respectively.
This is reflected in the high number of IR-only roadshows – one third – held by mega-caps in 2015, while only 11 percent were led by IROs at small caps.
