Resources >>Strengthen Your Ongoing Investor Relations with These 4 Innovative Communication Strategies

Strengthen Your Ongoing Investor Relations with These 4 Innovative Communication Strategies

by | Nov 19, 2021 | Finance

Our world and our companies have come to rely on technology, so we are constantly on the lookout for the newest, cutting-edge virtual trends. Investor relations teams are no different, as they are always searching for ways to replace traditional face-to-face meetings with more innovative communication methods. Staying on top of new technology has never been more critical to keep a competitive advantage and to maintain transparency with investors in a virtual world. According to the CDR’s 2020 Annual Survey, 43% of investor relations teams have become more proactive in their investor outreach post-covid, so how can the latest technology trends help keep your investors informed and happy? Keep reading to find out!

Informative Investor Portals

One of the newest and possibly one of the greatest tools your Investor Relations team can implement is an investor portal. An investor portal is a digital solution that enables your firm to distribute important content, such as data reports, portfolio company updates, and secured documents, to your investors on an ongoing basis. The best way to be transparent with your investors? Have a consistently updated portal that they can use to check the fund’s performance through real-time data. An analysis done by eFront Investment Café, a notable technology solution for alternative investment management that is used by over 850 clients worldwide, showed that 75-80% of their clients had started using investor portals to share analytical data related to their performance with investors. This platform could also be used to cut down onboarding time with new investors, which can be slow and disorganized without the help of technology. The portal could also be used by the new investor to submit the appropriate paperwork and sign documents digitally. This quicker and more efficient way of onboarding will spark immediate confidence in your investor.

Engaging Investor Relations Newsletters

Investors like to stay informed on how their capital is being deployed and their investment performance. One easy way your Investor Relations team can keep them in the loop is by sending a periodic e-newsletter. From a monthly newsletter focused on fund performance to an annual “year-in-review” highlighting your firm’s major accomplishments, there are various ways to communicate your firm’s momentum and trajectory effectively. Be sure to include investment recaps highlighting newly acquired portfolios and recent exits. To take it up a notch, include an explanatory video from the founder, a lead partner or managing director to elevate the experience and add a memorable touch.

Pre-Recorded AGM Presentations

It’s your Investor Relations team’s biggest event of the year: the Annual General Meeting. How can you keep it interesting and inviting for your investors? Show a pre-recorded presentation to break up in-person meetings or Zoom calls and really bring your data to life! This vastly growing trend started amid the COVID-19 pandemic, but is now here to stay, as it keeps investors engaged during the AGM.  Looking ahead, Citigate Dewe Rogerson, a leading financial and corporate communications consultancy, estimates that 46% of IR teams expect their AGMs to be hybrid post-crisis. Even more was estimated by Prosek Partners, a leading public relations and financial communications and marketing firm, with 86% of the survey’s Limited Partner respondents considering hybrid AGMs in the future. As the opportunity for in-person meetings approaches, this hybrid option of showing some pre-recorded videos dispersed within the different live presentations will help keep investors engaged throughout the entirety of your AGM.
Hybrid Investor Relations

A wonderful way to remind investors that their investment is helping a business succeed and grow is by sharing a portfolio company’s growth story. This can include employee interviews, customer testimonials, data that shows growth in sales and assets, visuals of the company’s facilities and product, and management’s expansion plans. Not only will this impress the investor, but it will help them see firsthand how their investment is being deployed.

Investment in Production

CEO Updates and Announcements

Investors typically only interact with the Investor Relations team and investment partners at your firm, but there’s a major opportunity to introduce your investors to the management teams running your portfolio companies. Planning virtual Q&A sessions, meet and greets, or sending periodic video announcements from your portfolio company CEO’s is both humanizing and exciting for investors to receive. Whether the CEO is discussing growth initiatives or key results, a message directly from the CEOs will increase the level of transparency and communication you have with your investors. We recommend implementing this strategy at least once a quarter, but doing so monthly and including a video in your newsletter is even better! To make the update or announcement feel even more personalized, the CEO could give a shoutout to a partner at your firm or one of their employees. All of these strategies are effortless to implement and the value of better, more interactive communication with your investors will be worth it! The added trust and transparency between you and your investors are guaranteed to grow through any of these ideas.

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