Find new investors

If you have identified your existing shareholder base and considered that you are keen to evolve its composition, or attract new shareholders to create more value, then investor targeting provides an effective method to find suitable candidates and tailor your IR programme accordingly.

Why do it?

The objective of a targeting project is to develop a prioritised list of institutional investors by identifying existing and potential opportunities in key institutions with holdings and interest in your company versus a selection of global peers, be they director competitors or companies of similar structure and outlook. Ultimately getting in front of investors who invest in your sector, but may not be familiar with your company, should be a key priority for senior management and IR teams.

The methodology will vary from provider to provider but an investor targeting exercise will generally focus on a Quantitative and/or Qualitative approach.

The intelligence that is produced as part of this process can be used to assess and reach out to possible new investors, plan roadshows effectively and maximise the use of management time in front of investors which, in turn should:

• Increase awareness in the equity proposition, specifically targeting new groups of investors
• Lower the cost of capital and increase efficiency of activity
• Achieve a fair market value for the stock based on the largest possible worldwide audience of investors being reached by the investor relations department and senior management team
• Ultimately provide a benchmark from which to measure future levels of IR success

Quantitative targeting

This process provides a screening analysis of the existing shareholder base against a selection of company peers, i.e. companies that are competing within the same space based on what are found to be the best matches by industry, sector, and/or future goals.

Once a peer group list has been agreed investment portfolio data will be scrutinised to formulate a comprehensive view of available levels of investment. Generally this will use a combination of bespoke analytical data and public ownership information to create rankings based on a number of parameters, which may include:

• Equities Under Management
• Investment Style
• Market value of holdings in your shares vs holdings in peers
• Adjusted Average Weighting versus Global Peers

Qualitative targeting

Building on the long list of targets that have been created as a result of the Quantitative targeting, this can be followed an exercise to confirm the names of interested followers, identify and canvass potential new investors and then ascertain their level of appetite in the investment proposition. An approach that supports you to assess which investors may be interested in the investment proposition.

The process will yield a greatly enhanced ‘short list’ of target investors, including a list of individuals with confirmed and current interest in meeting management and/or receiving further information. Ideally this will be provided alongside key information including investor profile and contact details, split by region.

Tracking activity

Most companies use this intelligence against their identified shareholder base to track activity and regularly review it to understand the impact against targeting efforts. In some cases the findings can be used as a KPI measure for IR teams (especially when conducted on an annual basis).