Investor Relations

SEVEN KEYS TO SUCCESSFUL INVESTOR RELATIONS 67Working within legal requirements, companies have a number of waysof convening meetings, depending on the structure of their shareholder baseand the media attention they want to draw to the event:Event driven by size of shareholder base. Meetings can be more orless difficult and costly to organize depending on whether the issuercounts hundreds or several millions of retail investors and if a quorumneeds to be reached, (which means a minimum percentage of the votingrights needs to be in attendance or represented by proxy for the meetingto take place). Having detailed information about the structure ofthe shareholder base ahead of time is crucial. The company may decideto notify shareholders by letter, sending one to each investor owning atleast one share. Depending on the country’s market organization andlegal framework, this information is obtained from its registrar, stocktransferagent or broker, or its own securities services division. It mayalso decide to only convene a meeting of shareholders owning a certainamount of shares (more than 10, 15, 200, etc.) to ensure that a quorumis reached through shareholders in attendance and proxy voting. It canuse all media channels (print, online, TV, and radio) to inform shareholdersabout how to participate in person or issue a proxy and obtainthe necessary documents. Of course, any combination of these optionscan be used. For recently listed companies, the first annual meeting isin a way the final step to becoming a publicly traded enterprise. Theprocess of convening the meeting can be an opportunity to gain highlyuseful information about the shareholder base. Event driven by media coverage strategy. Companies decide whetherto hold a large or relatively small meeting, at their headquarters or in aconference center, depending on how the meeting is convened, of course,and also on how much media attention they want to draw to the event.They must consider the image they want to convey to their shareholdersand the impression with which they want them to leave. Certain circumstances,such as proxy fights, will inevitably draw media attention,beyond the company’s control, which requires specific preparation.The annual general meeting being as much a legal obligation as a corporateimage–driven event, some companies offer corporate gifts and cocktailreception to their shareholders. Along with the annual report, annualmeetings are usually the most significant items on Investor Relations budgets,especially factoring in related bank fees for proxy soliciting, dividenddistribution, for instance.