If you are a CEO or if you lead a corporate Investor Relations team, you have probably already toyed with the idea of running an event for investors and analysts, to showcase the expertise of your company and bring them up to speed on your latest strategic developments. And then, maybe, you got discouraged. A Capital Markets Day? Really? Is that not going to be too time-consuming or too costly? How about we wait until we have some big news to share?
Actually, these are restrictive views: investors always appreciate an inside look at the workings of a business, and they will always give credit to a company for building a touch point with them outside of the imposed calendar.
What approach can help you decide?
In fact, the first thing you need for Capital Markets Days is a mindset shift. Stop looking at them as a place to defend your guidance. Instead, try to put yourself in an investor’s shoes. When was the last time they heard your key strategic messages? Don’t you feel that they would appreciate an update of your equity story?
Of course, your schedule is tight and your budget is limited. Of course, financial disclosures are increasingly regulated and that doesn’t make your life any easier. But the opportunity to build a consistent narrative around your overall strategy should not be overlooked. Nor should the chance to bring together key contributors to your equity story. Especially post-pandemic, when we have all learned the value of engaging in informal dialogue.
With that in mind, start by asking yourself a few key questions:
- How long has it been since you last reached out to your investors informally? If it has been more than two years, it is time to think about it.
- Have the regulations or economic climate in your industry changed over the last two years? Have you made a recent acquisition? If so, an update would be very valuable.
- How long until the end date of your current strategic plan? An update, using the plan as a framework, is always very useful and there is always something to say.
- Is there part of your business that isn’t getting the recognition it deserves? A key market that investors struggle to appreciate correctly? Shedding light on it is a good idea.
Make the most of your Capital Markets Day by following a few simple rules
- Establish the scope of your event before you start planning. How much do you have to say? What ‘signals’ are you looking to send or receive?
- Define your SOCO (Single Overriding Communications Objective) carefully, and from there apply Barbara Minto’s Pyramid Principle to effectively communicate your key messages. Make sure your presentations are designed for impact: state your main points first, then develop your key arguments followed by supporting examples and stories.
- Dedicate the right resources to preparing the event: a single senior person should be in charge and have the authority to make decisions regarding the event agenda. In parallel, a junior person can sort out logistics issues as they unfold.
- Plan it right: allow at least 2 months. Make sure this does not clash with quiet periods or important announcements.
- Hire the right partner to help you choose and structure your key messages.
- Ask for feedback from all participants (investors, contributors, organization team) after the event. Make sure you allow respondents to include verbatim in their answers. Analyze feedback carefully to understand where your areas of improvement are. Next time you will do even better!
Do you still wonder whether you need a Capital Markets Day? … If you do, the answer is probably yes.
Click here to see all Adrian Dearnell’s Forbes contributions
