IR Monitor – 20 November 2024

In this week’s newsletter:

• Annual General Meetings: Preparing for Disruption. FTI Consulting’s UK Crisis team highlights the importance of preparation for AGM disruption and outlines three key steps that businesses should apply in order to best prepare
• The IR Society held a webinar on Digital and AI Trends for IR in 2025
• Can sustainable divesting pressure companies to improve their environmental profiles? The latest research from IR Magazine into how investors sway companies
• How London snared France’s Canal+ to revive moribund listing market: the anticipated €6bn-€8bn IPO is set to be the largest listing in the City since 2022
• Four lessons for governance and IR professionals from Disney’s proxy fight with Trian Partners; the clash with activist Nelson Peltz offers clear learnings for listed companies
• And finally … important questions  on Reddit. Is it insider trading if I find out a company has bought a lot of champagne before a shareholder meeting?

This week’s news

AGMs: Preparing for Disruption

FTI Consulting’s UK Crisis team has shared valuable insights into how businesses can effectively navigate the increasingly complex AGM landscape. AGMs are facing heightened risks of protest action and disruption, particularly regarding contentious issues such as remuneration. AGM chairs are tasked with addressing difficult questions and managing hostile protest tactics, all while being closely scrutinised by stakeholders, including institutional investors and corporate governance representatives. The key takeaways? Clear messaging is essential. Businesses must anticipate questions about difficult topics. Additionally, physical presence and delivery are often wrongly overlooked, as effective spokesperson training and rehearsals help leaders manage the pressurised environment of an AGM. And finally, empathy is critical, both in addressing stakeholders’ concerns and managing disruptions with sensitivity.

Digital and AI Trends for IR in 2025

In a recent webinar, the IR Society explored the Digital and AI Trends for IR in 2025, predicting a firm uptick in the use of AI. In the world of IR, AI could cut down on routine tasks like meeting transcription and data management, but it also runs the risk of shrinking entry-level roles, reducing hands-on experience for new IR talent. Data security is another pressing issue, as IROs work with highly sensitive information, making industry peer adoption and proven best practices crucial before wider rollouts. LinkedIn is fast becoming a key platform in Investor Relations. FTSE 100 Entain’s Senior Social Media Manager, Chinmay Javeri stressed the importance of integrating LinkedIn into broader IR strategy, focusing on authentic, leadership-driven content. Investors respond better to narratives and personalities rather than corporate profiles, so content from CEOs and senior leaders should feel personal and insightful. Balfour Beatty boosted investor engagement by sharing a “Day in the Life” of their CEO on results day, offering real-time insights and a behind-the-scenes look. Although LinkedIn and social media have traditionally ranked low in IR communication channels, these new trends signal a shift, with more IROs recognising the platform’s power to connect directly with investor groups.

Can sustainable divesting pressure companies to improve their environmental profiles?

Research shared by IR Magazine has found that if a firm becomes more exposed to climate change, institutional investors often react, increasing companies’ cost of equity by up to 6 percent of their average value. However, despite the cost of equity increasing for firms due to climate exposure, this does not result in firms improving their environmental practices. A key reason for this is that addressing climate change also has a cost – one which is presumably greater than the 6 percent increase in the average cost of equity. Cleaner technology, staff training or entire culture transformations are difficult and expensive changes to make. The research suggests that divestment is not enough to improve environmental performance. Instead, a more effective approach may be institutional investors engaging with corporate management directly.

How London snared France’s Canal+ to revive moribund listing market

Canal+ is set to become the largest flotation in London for more than two years, having recently announced its intention to list on the London Stock Exchange, according to the Financial Times. The company is one that carries “deep cultural significance” in France. The firm is a part of Vivendi, the media conglomerate controlled by the billionaire Bollore family. Maxime Saada, head of Canal+, said London’s markets revamp is what attracted the firm to the London market specifically. Ministers have rolled out redesigned listing rules for the first time in 30 years, simplifying the listings process and presenting London’s market as an attractive place for foreign investment. Canal+ must now prove to their UK investors that London is the right place for them to be. Being the first company to list in London whilst being headquartered in France has resulted in the firm’s exemption from certain rules, like annual re-election of board members, which may mean that it won’t be a part of the FTSE 100. But Saada has said the firm has managed to attract British investors, despite not being fully understood by the market. 

Four lessons for governance and IR professionals from Disney’s fight

Reflecting on the high-profile clash between Disney and activist investor Nelson Peltz’s Trian Partners, Governance Intelligence highlights four key lessons for governance and IR professionals. The conflict, which saw Trian launch two proxy fights, ultimately cost Disney $40 million and Trian $25 million. Though Disney secured a virtual AGM victory in April 2024, with its nominees approved and Trian’s rejected, it was not without its challenges. The first of four lessons IROs should learn from this conflict is to engage proactively with minority shareholders, demonstrating respect for their role in the business. Secondly, at every opportunity in the fin comms calendar, an internal drive for change should be highlighted to show that shareholders’ interests are protected and there is no need for external intervention. Additionally, a prompt response to opponents’ claims (which suggests an openness to constructive ideas) is necessary to deconstruct an opponent’s narrative. And, finally, the key is to maintain the moral high ground in all actions, while also remembering that holders have a fiduciary duty to their own clients and are accountable for their voting decisions. 

And finally … Is it insider trading if I find a company has bought lots of champagne before a quarterly shareholder meeting?

The accidental acquisition of information surrounding a company’s recent purchase of celebratory alcohol has sparked a debate on Reddit. Under unassuming usernames, like ‘fev3r’, people are sharing their opinions on how best to tackle the knowledge of such information. A ‘compliance officer at a multi-billion UK asset manager’ said despite the information being non-public, it is not specific enough to be insider trading, and the purchase of large amounts of champagne could celebrate retirement, childbirth, Trump’s recent election, or even just resupply the office champagne fridge. Meanwhile, some have placed the source of this info at the forefront of the discussion at hand. Defining insider trading as the use of non-public information to make investment decisions results in the conclusion that the way in which this information has been sourced would be the only factor to take into consideration.  An alternative view, from Economics_Troll, is that people have access to non-public information all the time, and the more relevant factor is whether it is actually material. Insider trading, it seems, is a much harder nut to crack than one would expect. Convictions, according to Reddit’s house of anonymous experts, are most often in egregious, clear cases—and not in champagne-fuelled ones.

For further information on the dedicated investor relations team at FTI Consulting, please contact [email protected].