Inside Investor Relations - Volume 26 – Is your website ready for the digital investor relations era?
As COVID-19 has accelerated the digitalization of how companies do business, so as how companies conduct its investor relations. In our previous article << Inside Investor Relations – Volume 7– MiFID II and its impact>> we highlighted that companies and its IROs are forced to take a more active role in investors communication due to MiFID II, the pandemic has further increased the need for investor outreach and improved transparency. With the prevalence of virtual events, investors nowadays can be easily swamped by meeting invitations. As a result, companies need to ensure their digital investor relations management is carried out properly to ensure an effective investor communication.
A good investor relations website should be like a fascinating storybook that allows investors to understand the past, present and future of a company in an efficient manner. Over the years, we have seen some great IR websites—as well as some not-so-great ones. Here are several best practices to keep in mind when developing a best-in-class IR website.
- A good homepage: The homepage is the page that investors will see when they first visit the website, and it often builds the first impression on the company. By designing a clear page using dashboards, integrated menus, interactive charts, etc., investors can quickly find and browse the information in your investor relation website easily. You can even consider using some call-to-action content with links on the homepage to attract investors to further dig into the information that the company wishes to deliver.
- Attractive investment thesis: It will be a plus if Investors are able to to understand the investment thesis of a company quickly based on the information provided on the website (such as industry position, competitive advantages, future development, etc.). For example, Shell (AMS: RDSA), the second largest oil and gas company in the world, lists three major investment thesis with links on the investment thesis page. Hence, investors can quickly navigate the three core value for the company and further understand its strategies, results through the hyperlink if they are interested.
- Timeliness and accessibility of information: Timeliness and accessibility of information (such as news, important information disclosure, financial reports, etc.) is the basic thing for a good investor relations website. Consistency for information disclosure is very important too. Through a clear and logical arrangement, you can help investors find the information more quickly. Financial results page is an often-visit page by the investors, hence, we suggest companies can consider consolidating historical key financial figures and ratios into a summary, so that investors could have a clearer understanding of the long-term financial trend. You can even provide an interactive option on the website to allow investors customize and download the data according to their needs. In addition, the company may also consider providing multiple download formats (HTML, PDF and even excel) to ensure investors with different preferences can access your information. Also, the investor relations website should provide historical investor activities and upcoming events with relevant materials to allow investors to catch up or participate.
- ESG initiatives: In our previous article << Inside Investor Relations – Volume 8 – Should companies invest in ESG?>>, we mentioned the trend of investors incorporating ESG into their investment decision-making process. Therefore, to illustrate the company’s sustainability efforts and results in the investor relations website is also very important. In the ESG section, companies can also divide the page in the different dimensions (for example, into the three dimensions of "environmental", "social" and "governance"), and communicate respective goals, plans, execution, and data-based results., also a link to guide investors for further details or download of the company’s sustainability report is also highly recommended.
- Make investors connect and stay in touch easily: Through contact messages,, email reminders, meeting request function, companies should try to provide easy access to investors who wish to connect. You can also consider placing the contact information directly at the bottom of the company's webpage, which is also an effective way for investors to get in touch with the company directly.
- Mobile-First Design: With the proliferation of mobile devices, more investors are using their mobile devices to browse investor relations websites. Therefore, it is important to ensure the investor relations website support mobile browsing and offers a smooth experience.
The best investor relations websites facilitate easy and efficient access to the most relevant investor data. Not only it can help you to deliver your story but also differentiate you from your peers. In contrast, if the investor relations website looks outdated or difficult to navigate, the investors may consider it as a sign for poor investor relations.
QIC advisors consist of experienced professionals that have worked in international corporates, major sell-side and buy-side companies for many years. By leveraging our experiences in IR, capital market and investments, we help corporate IR team to work efficiently and prepare for the ever-changing capital markets, no matter offline or online. If you are interested, please reach out to us and discover ways we can help with your IR works.
Contact: yvonnehuang@qtumic.com