Best Practices
But before we dive into the specifics, let’s talk about navigation. Easy navigation is crucial. If your investor section is part of a larger corporate website, the Investor menu needs to be clear and intuitive, so investors always know where they are, and can easily move around from page to page. An IR website often involves more than just a few menu items, which can sometimes clash with the corporate site’s overall structure. For instance, if your corporate menu doesn’t have dropdowns or secondary navigation, it can make navigating the IR section tricky.
We recommend including:
- Clear and concise introduction, values and key investment highlights.
- Value proposition message from the CEO.
- Highlight recent news – typically the top three latest headline.
- Upcoming events, or announcements.
- Access to the most recent corporate presentation or fact sheet in a consumable format. Side note: The on-page readers are cool, but most of the time the text content is difficult to read. A download optioin is best.
- Email Alert Subscription.
- Contact Information, including the IR contact, company address, and transfer agent.
Corporate Governance
Publicly traded companies are required to comply with regulatory guidelines and standards related to corporate governance, such as those set by stock exchanges and regulatory bodies. The corporate governance section ensures that the company meets these compliance obligations.
A well-developed corporate governance section also enhances investor confidence by showcasing strong corporate governance practices. It reassures investors that the company operates with integrity, fairness, and accountability, which are critical factors in long-term investment decisions.
- Overview of corporate governance structure.
- Board of directors with bios and preferably headshots.
- Leadership team if not included in the ‘About Us’ section.
- Board committee composition table.
- Governance documents including committee charters, code of conduct and ethics, and depending upon the exchange the board diversity matrix.
Financial Information
Financial information provides shareholders and potential investors with transparent access to essential financial information about the company.
Investors rely on financial data to evaluate the company’s financial health, performance trends, and profitability.
- Comprehensive and up-to-date financial statements, including balance sheets, income statements, and cash flow reports.
- Stock Data for interactive data visualization and analysis.
- Archived earnings releases, conference call transcripts, and SEC filings.
Press releases are a necessity within any IR website. What is often overlooked is how press releases are displayed and how the releases open when they are clicked. Consider the following:
- Directly integrating press releases avoids iFrames and improves SEO, as the content is fully accessible to search engines, boosting your site’s visibility.
- Displaying press releases directly on the page, rather than as PDF downloads, allows investors to easily read and engage with the information without needing to open additional files. This approach promotes a smoother and more accessible user experience.
- Avoid redirecting press releases to external sites.
- WordPress users can have press releases displayed within the blog, which maintains brand consistency and allows search engines to index content effectively.
Events & Presentations
An Events & Presentation page promotes the company’s brand, achievements, and investment opportunities to a wider audience of investors, analysts, and stakeholders.
Investors rely on this area to attend corporate events, access the latest corporate presentation and see what events/conferences are upcoming.
- Calendar of upcoming investor events, such as earnings calls, conferences, and webcasts.
- Access to the corporate investor presentation.
- Slides, and transcripts from investor meetings.
An investor resources section is a great way to support your investor relations efforts. It boosts transparency and helps build positive relationships with stakeholders by allowing investors to opt into email lists, access FAQs, and more.
- Investor FAQs.
- Downloadable investor kits or a fact sheet.
- Investor contact information.
- Form to be able to submit a question or comment.
- Email Alert opt-in lists.