Would you go on the road with a broker that doesn’t cover your company?

Almost 30 percent of IROs have gone on the road with a non-covering broker in the past, according to new research from 750 respondents to the surveys that make up the Global Roadshow Report 2017, set to be published in the winter issue of IR Magazine.

Regionally, Asian firms are far more likely than their peers in North America or Europe to do this, with 36 percent of Asian IROs responding Yes to the question – compared with 27 percent in Europe and a regional low of 26 percent among North Americans. 

Among all groups, however, it is small-cap IROs who are most likely to go on the road with brokers that don’t cover their company, at 46 percent. This is no doubt because small-cap companies often struggle for coverage in the first place. Numbers then drop steadily as market cap climbs, to a research low of 18 percent at mega-cap companies. 

The last time IR Magazine asked this question, in 2015, notably fewer IROs across all cap sizes had previously gone on the road with non-covering brokers (a high of 38 percent for small caps and a low of 8 percent at mega-caps). Many said, however, that they would consider doing so in the future – something that is reflected in the higher numbers seen today.