This document discusses the evolution of corporate access technology for institutional investors and investor relations teams. It notes that both investors and IR teams face budget constraints which is driving adoption of technology solutions. There are two main types of technologies - aggregation platforms that provide a unified calendar for scheduling meetings, and direct engagement platforms that allow direct outreach and scheduling between companies and investors. Direct engagement platforms are growing in popularity as they provide more control and transparency compared to traditional channels. Both technology types are expected to continue growing in importance for corporate access, and may eventually converge into a single solution. Maximizing the ROI on investor marketing will involve understanding the strengths and limitations of different channels.
2. Introduction to Meetyl
Meetyl and CGI Glass Lewis – subsidiaries of Glass Lewis
• Glass Lewis is a leading independent provider of global governance services
• 1200+ institutional clients, accounting for over $25 trillion in assets
• CGI Glass Lewis (Sydney), GL subsidiary analyzing ASX and NZ companies and providing services to
Australian/Asia-Pacific institutions
Meetyl – Direct shareholder engagement technology platform and services
• Founded 2012 and headquartered in San Francisco, Meetyl Europe established 2014
• Leading direct engagement technology platform and services for corporate access
• Growing community across 700+ institutional funds and corporations in US, Canada, Europe, Asia
3. Shifting Landscape for Investors and IR
The Institutional Investor: Facing reducing spending budgets
• Competition: Passive fund assets projected to exceed actively managed funds in 5 years
• Increased distribution costs: NTF supermarkets on the rise
• Regulatory compliance costs: 7-10%+ of operating budget with additional regulation underway from FCA
(UK) and European Union
Investor Relations: Less industry resources but similar investor marketing requirements
• Research and sales: Less research coverage of companies, reducing sales coverage of buy-side accounts
• Corporate access: Dedicated desks to ASX companies are limited
4. Growth of Technology Solutions
What’s Driving the Growth of Technology Adoption For Institutional Investors?
• Crunch on institutional investor: Leading to increasing appetite for alternative solutions
• Wider acceptance of social media: Internet tools are being used more to help deliver alpha and raise capital
Focus on Corporate Access for Institutional Funds
• Big component of commissions: Up to 1/3 annually spent on corporate access
• Pros vs. cons of each technology solution: Aggregation vs. Direct engagement
5. Aggregation (Unified Calendar) Products
Company Investor
Pros:
Seamless / Transparent to
IR
Single portal to access CA
Cons:
Traditional access within
shrinking channel
Cost to license tool,
Still requires business with
broker
Examples: A2Access (Dealogic), WeConvene, CorpAxe, CorporateAccess.net
6. Direct Engagement Products
Company Investor
Pros:
Broader access to investors,
Better control &
transparency,
Increased privacy
No cost to accept meeting,
Interest in company known
to company regardless of
size
Cons:
Time investment,
Cost of logistics
Up front time investment to
adopt
Examples: Meetyl, Elite Connect, IngageIR, ClosIR, OpenExchange
7. Future of Corporate Access
Predictions
• One primary leader for each type of technology
• Both technology types are necessary in corporate access evolution. Could they merge into
one?
• Traditional channels will remain but will continue to get leaner
Maximize Your ROI on Investor Marketing
• Understand strengths and limitations of your current channel
• Consider alternating channels to drive maximum benefit on marketing days
• Dictate requirements for meetings (existing vs. prospects, long vs. long/short, asset size)