Black Sun Global was delighted to support the IR Society as a sponsor of its annual conference which took place on 13 June 2023.
From a full day’s programme of insightful sessions, we are pleased to share some highly relevant and informative findings from the panel discussion entitled ‘Staying authentic and relevant for the buy side’, on how fund managers use Annual Reports to inform their investment decisions. The discussion, moderated by BBC presenter Evan Davis, featured Tim Marshall from Invesco, Andrew Millington from abrdn and Anthony Sleeman from Norges Bank Investment Management.
Asked about the role Annual Reports played in their analysis of companies, the panel was unanimous in the strong emphasis they played on the importance of the Annual Report.
“Annual Reports are potentially the best bit of research written about a company out there. They are written by insiders with the best information and with dedicated investment by the company. It is an opportunity to write a brilliant piece of analysis and research…they are extremely important, and we use them increasingly more than sell side research”
Anthony Sleeman went on to endorse this view, commenting:
“I’d rather speak to the company than to an analyst and the Annual Report is the most in-depth way you can speak to us and tell us your story”
Once again underlining the Annual Report’s importance to fund managers, Andrew Millington sounded a note of caution to those companies with a weaker report.
“We will read it – and it might just be the reason why we don’t” invest.
At Black Sun Global, we see effective reporting as a vital part of the stakeholder engagement work we specialise in as a business. These comments were a strong endorsement of the time and effort our clients devote to producing Annual Reports of the highest quality, while highlighting the need to keep challenging ourselves to continually to raise the bar in compelling and relevant corporate reporting.
About Black Sun
Black Sun is a global group of strategic advisors, consultants and stakeholder engagement specialists. We help global brands transform their stakeholder relations, fuel innovation, and drive more sustainable business practices.
We partner with visionary companies to define and communicate their purpose, strategy, performance and culture and to bring to life their value creation story. Our services and solutions directly address the business-critical concerns of today; best-practice disclosure and reporting; effective communication of their long-term sustainability story; building trust and deepening engagement through digital communications.
Explore our thinking and learn from global thought leaders through
our blogs, podcasts, webinars, and events.