Click here to read Turkish IROs: Masters of crisis management to find out how IR teams in Turkey have been responding to turbulent times.
How much does Aberdeen have invested in Turkish equities, and how has that changed since the start of 2015?
 William Scholes, Aberdeen Asset Management |
Across our 12 emerging market strategies, we have approximately $2 bn invested in Turkey. Over the period from 2015 – since when the value of lira-denominated assets has halved versus the US dollar – we have been active in topping up and top-slicing because of market volatility. Given the scale of currency devaluation, the value of our investments has reduced in the country, though the size of our allocation – the actual weight in portfolios – has changed far less significantly.
Turkey has faced a number of crises since the start of 2015. What do you want from an IRO when it comes to crisis communications?
Early, definitive comment on any disruption to operations is ideal, given it allows us to respond with similar speed to concerns from our clients. Ideally this would be done to the full distribution list of investors, rather than on a piecemeal basis, according to size and perceived priority. But crisis management is a skill and framework we would expect to be well embedded in any high-quality business, and we wouldn’t expect to be kept regularly abreast of the process of resolution. In short, we’d rather the company’s efforts are focused where they’re most needed. We wouldn’t be in day-to-day contact with any of our holdings, though we would expect IROs to be regularly and easily available.
To what degree does this change depending on the nature of the crisis the company is dealing with?
In politically charged circumstances, and especially when media outlets are being closely monitored, we accept that public comments can leave companies vulnerable. In such a circumstance IR professionals might take steps to schedule a succession of brief calls with stakeholders to reassure them, insofar as they can, regarding the threat to ongoing operations.
Can you share any examples of particularly good crisis communications you have seen from a Turkish firm?
Among our holdings there are many examples of highly sophisticated IR functions, but Coca Cola Içecek – which operates in regions with a greater incidence of geopolitical volatility, not just certain parts of Turkey, but also Iraq, Syria and Pakistan – is notable for a prompt, centralized notification system.
This article appeared in the fall 2017 issue of IR Magazine
