Can you really build meaningful investor relationships through a screen? Zoom and Teams calls have been an invaluable tool in the past few years, but is there an overreliance on remote communication in IR today? Paul Measday, Head of Investor Relations, Ashmore Group plc, joins the podcast to talk about his career and thoughts on IR as a whole. In his view, IR is still a “contact sport,” and traditional relationship-building is critical to successful IR.

IR in the digital age

In this episode, Paul shares his perspective on IR as a team of one in his role at Ashmore Group plc. Previously working as an equity analyst with Cazenove/JP Morgan Cazenove, he qualified as a chartered accountant with Ernst & Young and has an MEng in Mechanical Engineering from Exeter University and the University of Liège. With experience across multiple areas of finance and capital markets, he brings knowledge and experience of equity research, covering banks through multiple market cycles.

We hear his thoughts on the practical challenges of managing roadshows and proxy voting, and why he believes traditional relationship-building is critical, especially when building new relationships with investors. He discusses Ashmore Group’s strategic approach to investor targeting, their approach to conferences, analyst relations, and the importance of understanding your company’s investment story.

His biggest tip for those thinking about a career in IR is to gain experience in different areas of capital markets and finance to bring something unique to the role and gain credibility across your company.

In This Episode:

• Paul shares details of his career background and the lessons he applies to his role in IR
• What surprised him about the transition into in-house IR
• Paul’s strategic approach to investor targeting
• How a committee-based investment process reduces risks for Ashmore Group
• The biggest challenges in his career and how COVID changed IR
• Ashmore Group’s approach to roadshows and conferences
• Paul’s thoughts on AI and IR tools
• The challenges of liaising with governance teams and proxy voting
• Paul’s biggest tip for people thinking of a career in IR

Quotes:

• "Asset management, the capital markets, it's a contact sport, right? You need to meet people."
• "You can have a Zoom call or some other sort of virtual interaction with a fund manager. If they're a shareholder, it is a good tool because you've already built that relationship. But if you're trying to establish a relationship, everyone will be very polite on the video call, but I'm not sure it leads to anything meaningful."
• "In order to gain credibility, bringing some relevant experience and industry knowledge lets you carve out a slightly different role for yourself under the IR banner so that if you're in the meeting with the finance director and you've only been in IR for a year, you have a role to play in that meeting.”

Resources:

Connect with Paul on LinkedIn

Every IR team wants to hear good feedback from investors. But it’s the negative feedback that has the most value. In this episode, you’ll hear Dan Homan, Investor Relations Director at Currys plc, explain why honesty and genuine two-way conversations between IR and investors are a must to achieve continuous improvement in IR efforts.

Investors value honesty above all else

Prior to joining Currys, Dan was a Director at Citi Investment Research where he was a lead analyst on top-ranked teams covering the European Retail sector. Alongside Investor Relations, Dan has responsibility for UK strategy, property and the Group's defined benefit pension scheme.

He joins Enquire, the Investor Relations Podcast to shed light on Currys’ approach to investor relations, communication with the board, and hosting capital market events. We hear about the challenges that his team and Currys has faced over the past few years, including a takeover bid from Elliot Advisors and company restructures. Coming from the sell-side and now working alongside other departments such as property, Dan brings a lot of additional insight into different areas of the business that he says make him better at IR.

Dan shares his approach to shareholder management, working with brokers and analysts, and why he actively seeks negative feedback from investors. He also explains his thoughts on what makes someone good at IR and advice for anyone considering it as a career.

In This Episode:

• Dan shares an overview of his career story before coming to Currys
• Why companies shouldn’t forget to tell their equity story
• The top things that surprised Dan about his transition to IR
• Dan’s advice on preparing for a bid defence
• How the IR team interact with other communication functions
• Currys approach to ESG
• How Dan hosts site visits and capital market events
• How Dan receives feedback from investors
• The best way to strengthen credibility with investors
• Why Dan believes KPIs are too difficult to set for IR
• What makes someone good at IR

Quotes:

• “A number of listed companies forget to tell their equity story regularly enough. At full year updates and interims, they’d just be giving an update on results and assuming everyone knew what they were trying to do as a company.”
  
  
• “I’m very interested in the negative feedback. It can sometimes be difficult to hear, but it’s the most important stuff that we can action.”
  
  
• "You need a ruthless focus on simplicity. The simpler you can make the message for the market, the more that investors are going to appreciate you."

Resources:

• Connect with Dan Homan

When done right, the collaboration between analysts and investor relations professionals can transform how a company's story is told, understood, and valued by investors. In this episode, we speak with Ciarán Donnelly, Technology & Media Equity Research Analyst at Berenberg to hear his insights of the technology, media, and telecommunications (TMT) sector.

Consistency, Availability, and Proactivity: An Analyst’s IR Wish List

Ciarán shares stories from his decade-long career in investment banking. You’ll hear what a typical day looks like for him, from dissecting results day announcements to communicating with IR to running global roadshows.

We hear what Ciarán would most like to see from IROs when it comes to assessing his modelling approach and why he thinks that IR should be involved far earlier in the process when it comes to an IPO.

While there’s been some negativity about the UK market, Ciarán is confident that things are looking up and explains why many analysts like him have an optimistic view of UK equities. As a topic that affects Ciarán’s sector a great deal, we discuss how AI is impacting both his role internally and the companies he researches. We hear his take on AI in the wider TNT market and why it can be a productivity enhancer.

In This Episode

• The typical day of a sell-side analyst
• Why IR should be involved earlier in an IPO process
• How AI is impacting IR
• What makes meetings with IR, companies, and investors more productive
• The key attributes of great IROs when communicating with analysts
• Why now is the time for optimism in the UK market

Quotes:

"We are starting to see practical examples of where [AI] is either benefitting or changing business models."

“The equity story is hugely important to whether or not an IPO gets done. If an IR professional can be in situ in a private company even 12 months in advance, I think that is a really good opportunity.”

"There's always going to be demand for quality assets and there is a lot of quality assets in the UK. So we think you're likely to see that trend continue in 2025 and beyond."

Resources:

• Connect with Ciarán Donnelly