As we come to the end of interim reporting season, most of us have now completed at least one fully virtual roadshow. Initial complaints about going virtual were that it is harder to establish a connection and that it isn’t as good as an ‘in-person’, ‘whites-of-the-eyes’ meeting. Then we grumbled about ‘Zoom fatigue’ and the tech issues of hopping from platform to platform. But we HAVE got used to it.
I guess it’s like the transition from letters to emails, and I’m old enough to recall the typing pool at the accountancy firm I trained at, complete with mountains of pink copies and yellow copies that, as a junior, I had to carefully file. Probably my best ever intern role was when a group of us were tasked with sorting the archives in the attic – we discovered some sun loungers stashed up there and spent hours relaxing on the roof whilst theoretically deep archiving records. Not sure it added much to my personal development, but they did offer us all a training contract at the end of the summer!
So, I’m going to stick my neck out and say I hope the virtual roadshow is here to stay. Maybe supplemented by a traditional roadshow, but I believe virtual can be the primary format. I know some management teams, corporate brokers, and IRO’s, believe there are certain times that it is still better to do meetings in person (e.g. during a transaction), but I would challenge that it’s not necessarily better, just more familiar. Of course, it’s likely that we will end up with a hybrid model, but in defence of the virtual meeting, here are six killer benefits.
1.Time efficiency
Not only do you recoup the travel time between cities and in the car between meetings, but in a traditional meeting, there is almost an unspoken obligation to fill the hour. Now, if it takes 37 minutes to cover the Q&As, you wrap up, and since you haven’t moved from your desk, you can crack on with stuff straight away. Nice.
2. Before market-open sales force blitz
Here’s one I would never even have contemplated in the old world. You can now speak to your corporate broker sales team for 15 minutes before market open. How much better is that than waiting until after market close?
3. Equal access
Traditionally, a typical UK based IR, we would do the UK roadshows first, then head to the US. That meant the US investors had to wait. Although there is no new information being disclosed in the meeting, if you buy into the ‘whites-of-their-eyes’ theory, then the investors who have to wait are potentially disadvantaged. Now you can hop from London, to New York, to Hong Kong and see all your key investors at a time that works for them, not that fits your travel plans.
4. New opportunities
Previously, certain locations were more challenging to visit logistically, or it was a struggle to justify a long trip to meet a potential investor that may, or may not, be interested.
5. Cost efficiency
This is an obvious one so I’ve left it to last. Clearly, you can save a fortune on travel and accommodation, not to mention those chauffeur driven cars or taxis between meetings. That budget can then be reallocated within IR – every IRO has a budget wish list.
6. Recording?
This is one which I suspect will be discussed more as the virtual IR world evolves. There was always a risk of challenge over selective disclosure at a meeting, hence IROs generally take copious contemporaneous notes as evidence. Now we have the facility to save a factual record. Subject to permissions, surely this is a compliance win.
The downside of virtual is, of course, for the attendee to switch of their video and disengage, which means the delivery of your messages is even more critical than ever.
If you’d like to review your IR strategy or hone those delivery skills, why not book a virtual ‘Power Hour’ with me?
IR-connect 