Sharon Merrill Associates Investor Relations Activism Defense

Keeping the Activists at Bay: Five Steps to an Effective Response Plan

The new reality is that no public company, no matter how highly regarded or well managed, is immune from activist attention. The number of activist campaigns waged against public companies increased in 2015 to 375 according to the research firm FactSet. Once an activist surfaces, every move a company makes can have a profound and cascading…

Sharon Merrill Associates Investor Relations The Podium Blog

Telling a Story Investors Want to Hear

It’s the ability to tell a compelling story that will get the investment community excited about your company. It’s also a great challenge for even the largest public companies in the country. So why is it so difficult to captivate investors with an investment story management should inherently know so well? To help solve this…

How Investor Relations Can Support the Buy Side’s Investment Process

By Dennis Walsh, Vice President “Buy-side analysts truly value a company with a responsive investor relations program led by an informed IRO,” shares John Barr, Co-Manager of the Needham Growth Fund (NEEGX) and Manager of the Needham Aggressive Growth Fund (NEAGX). Most strategic investor relations programs aim to increase institutional ownership with new long-term shareholders.…

Sell-Side Coverage – A Small Cap’s White Whale?

By Dennis Walsh, Vice President I recently was interviewed for an article for IR Magazine titled, “Sell-Side Analysts: The Many and the Few.” The article discussed how some companies manage a full roster of covering sell-siders, while others struggle to maintain or attract just a few. In today’s market, it seems more common that IROs…

Form 13Fs – Things that Could Have Been Brought to My Attention Yesterday!

By Dennis Walsh, Senior Consultant & Director of Social Media It’s that time of the year again.  Four times a year, institutional investors that hold more than $100 million in assets under management are required to file a Form 13F with the SEC that lists the securities held in their portfolio and the number of…

Reading Body Language: The Investment Community’s New Secret Weapon

“Lie to Me.” The name of the prime time drama on Fox is a challenge.  “Go ahead.  I dare you to try to pull one over on me.”  The show’s protagonist, played by Tim Roth, is an expert in detecting deception and is hired by corporations, government agencies and private citizens to analyze body language.…