GILES RAFFERTY, Media and Financial PR

Whether it is ongoing climate change, Donald Trump having another tilt at the US presidency or the emergence of AI, these are all events that have been predicted. How they played out and what impacts they will have are very much subject to unpredictability.

The recently published CSIRO/Bureau of Meteorology State of the climate report  highlights how feedback loops between the atmosphere and the oceans are creating greater unpredictability around weather patterns. Few predicted the magnitude of Donald Trump’s victory in the US presidential race. And from an Investor Relations perspective, AI allows high speed data analysis to support investor targeting but may create unpredictability around the information investors extract from their own, discrete AI powered analysis ahead of investment decisions.

INVESTOR TARGETING

A predictable constant across 2024 was FIRST Advisers monthly newsletters and amongst our most read blogs was Using data to drive investor targeting. FIRST Advisers has the ability to interrogate a Register of Relevant Interests, uncover insights into investor holdings and combine this intelligence with detailed analysis of peer company registers to create an effective, quantitative tool for investor targeting.

CYBERSECURITY AND ACTIVISM

Our blogs on Cybersecurity were also well read. In February we looked at emerging Cybersecurity trends in our Managing cybersecurity risks article. We then revisited this theme in June following the Ticketmaster Data breach, with our What to do if you suffer a cybersecurity breach blog.

Activism was another theme that caught the attention of the FIRST Advisers audience. Our The shape of activism in Australia in August focused on the unique characteristics of Australian activism, while our Has Australian ESG activism peaked? blog explored the post COVID decline in ESG activism in Australia.

AGMS AND PROXY ADVISORS

Our coverage of the hot topics for proxy advisors also featured amongst our more popular blogs. As a prelude to the June/July window for engaging with Proxy Advisors we looked at the “Dos and don’ts” of meeting with Proxy Advisors in our Engaging with Proxy Advisors? blog. We then followed that blog up in September with a review of hot topic issues in our  A climate of change, voting at AGMs blog. All the Proxy Advisory firms were interested to see how companies would respond to the record 41 strikes against ASX 300 rem. reports during the 2023 AGM season.

PERCEPTION STUDIES AND COMPLIANCE

ASX compliance – Avoiding the tendentious and intemperate was a popular standalone blog in July that explored how to avoid reprimands for market releases and presentations that did not meet ASX standards. There was a particular focus on Mining Company disclosures.

Another well read, standalone blog was an explainer on the power of investor perception research, Perception studies supercharge investor relations,  which highlighted the importance of assessing if a company’s investment case is being understood and valued by investors.

While it is not always possible, or even desirable, to predict the future, at FIRST Advisers we are committed to continuing to highlight issues of interest to investor relations in our monthly newsletters through the course of 2025. We stand ready to offer our expert advice and leading analytics capabilities to support investor relations functions and help drive meaningful engagements with shareholders.