Thoughts from the European buy side

Novo Nordisk might have been named number one in the IR Magazine Euro Top 100 for the second year running but what did the buy side have to say about the Danish healthcare major? And how did the European buy side rate other IR programs from the top 10 across the continent?

1. Novo Nordisk
‘Novo Nordisk has an independent board of talented people who have been involved with the company for many years’
– Denmark, buy side

2. Iberdrola
‘Ignacio Cuenca has been at Iberdrola a long time and has extensive knowledge. He is able to talk on each segment and each geographical region without reference to anyone else’
– Switzerland, buy side

3. Unilever
‘Unilever holds a good capital markets day where it tells the story very well. I meet management people once or twice a year and the CEO is always very clear on strategy and talks easily about achievements and future plans’
– Norway, buy side

4. Continental
‘The IR at Continental is sophisticated and highly professional. It is a complex company with many businesses yet it produces detailed documentation on each segment. You can tell it invests a lot in its communications’
– UK, buy side

5. Roche Holding
‘I imagine everyone mentions Roche when it comes to thinking about sustainability as it is so interested in the future’
– Switzerland, buy side

6. EDP – Energias de Portugal
‘EDP is great because of the quality of the information provided, the timing of the presentations and the actual presentations. The senior management and IR team communicate well and send a clear message to the market’
– Portugal, buy side

7. Allianz
‘I recently put out a life insurance report and if I could have done I would have put Christian Lamprecht as the co-author for all the help he gave me. He provided details and even checked the translations for me. A great guy and extremely helpful’
– Germany, buy side

8. Nestlé
‘Nestlé is very helpful on the subject of nutrition and food additives and provides the clearest and most quantified information. I have my own criteria for assessing companies that include putting certain questions directly to the firm and I find, in terms of transparency, that Nestlé comes out the best’
– France, CSR analyst

9. RWE
‘RWE is a complex company but it makes the effort to separate equity and credit investors so its updates are always relevant to me. I meet with the firm frequently here and in London. The IR head is always available and holds regular investor days’
– Netherlands, buy side

10. Deutsche Post DHL
‘Deutsche Post keeps in good contact at all times. It holds separate meetings on special issues and is always interesting when trying to help you understand the company and its strategic plans’
– Germany, buy side

All comments taken from the Investor Perception Study – Europe 2016