Equities - DVFA

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featu DVFA and Germany’s Equities_ SMEs_
DVFA and Germany’s SME sector – initiatives to promote better capital market access for
small and medium-sized enterprises
Germany’s capital market is still characterised by a vast number of SMEs. Using the definition of less than EUR 100 in
market capitalisation, roughly 500 companies in the German capital market, or 60% of all listed companies, can be
called ‘small caps’.
For the past eight years, DVFA has supported and promoted the interests of small caps
as an asset class. Since the late summer of 2003, the Society has been holding the
respected SCC_ Small Cap Conference, now the largest independent investor conference
for listed SMEs in Germany. Moreover, in February 2009, the SCF_ Small Cap
Forum - a further format - was introduced for presentation of annual financial statements.
In the spring of 2010, the SCF_ was held for the second time.
Its autonomy and neutral positioning permits DVFA to invite buy and sell-side analysts,
portfolio managers and asset managers from any company within the market. Thus, the
Society can also offer the presenting companies the opportunity to speak with its investors,
to uphold existing contacts and establish new ones. Corporates use the DVFA
Conference to report on current financial ratios and business developments, as well as
to participate in one-on-one discussions with investors. Moreover, on the occasion of
the SCF_, the work of the DVFA Expert Group Small Caps was presented along with academic
projects, such as the pioneering scholarly work of Petra Oetken.
Guideline Analyst Presentation
For more than 20 years, DVFA has been working to assist corporates with capital marketoriented
financial communication. In 2010, the Guideline Analyst Presentation was
released jointly with PwC Deutschland, to delineate approaches for design and distribution
of analyst presentations, the role and function of which in the context of financial communication
has been largely ignored by companies. The publication offers support for preparing
and organising analyst presentations and sets up a series of standards for a reporting
format that will be seen as one of the most important information sources for investment
professionals. Although investment professionals have clear demands and expectations
in this area, no uniform standards have ever been developed for analyst presentations.