Investor Relations in a Bear Market

Every great story deserves an engaged audience.

It’s a philosophy we deeply believe in at PondelWilkinson – So much so it’s splashed across our website banner and written on the back of our business cards.

And it rings true regardless of market conditions, even in bear markets, when the value of equities or other investments dip 20 percent or more from recent highs.

That happened around mid-June on the S&P 500, and while there’s little companies specifically can do to calm market forces, taking a proactive, non-promotional stance is the best course, according to PondelWilkinson CEO Roger Pondel.

“Retreating or staying purposely quiet is not a strategy that works,” he asserts. “Astute investors have their antennae up now, looking for good companies.”

In a bear market, investors go into safer stocks, explains PondelWilkinson Vice President Judy Lin Sfetcu, who adds some historical context to highlight her point.

During the dark months of the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008, when the S&P sank nearly 52%, investors flocked to companies with solid financials and established track records, abandoning companies teetering on insolvency.

“If a company has a good balance sheet, they should be messaging that to investors and Wall Street,” Sfetcu says.

Managing Director Laurie Berman views this bear market more as a reflection of investor sentiment, than company specifics, and a recent tally by FactSet provides some data points to back that up.

Through July 22, 2022, 68 percent of S&P companies in Q2 reported a positive EPS surprise, while 65 percent of S&P companies reported a positive revenue surprise.

Granted it was a small sample size (21 percent of total company results), but undoubtedly good quarterly metrics by several publicly traded companies.

Yet, as of press time, the S&P was down just over 13 percent for the year. The tech-heavy Nasdaq, down 21 percent this year, closed with the worst six month start on record, losing nearly 30 percent of its value through June, according to Yahoo Finance.

“If a company is being negatively impacted by macro issues, that company should be honest about what that means for its future, and importantly, what steps are being taken to try to insulate it, or use the macro issues to their advantage,” Berman suggests. “Highlighting certain areas that may give investors more confidence can be helpful.”

Analysts and other finance experts contend bear markets typically last between nine months and a year, so settle in for some continued volatility, especially as inflation, pandemic-led labor shortages, related supply chain constraints, and rising interest rates present ongoing challenges.

In the interim, here are a few more dos and don’ts to ponder:

  • Think responsiveness and transparency.
  • Message the company’s strengths: cash flow and balance sheet; client/customer relationships; resilience and history in prior down markets.
  • Message if and how current economic conditions are creating change for the company, positive or negative, including decision-making.
  • Be certain that investors hear regularly from c-suite executives, sometimes more than the CEO and CFO, on conference calls, non-deal roadshows (NDRs) and conference presentations.
  • Court and know key investors and their concerns, not just about your company, but about their portfolios.
  • Give investors reasons to hold your shares, or buy more.
  • Don’t feel defensive about a falling stock price, particularly if the company is still performing well. Investors know the reason.

“Resist the temptation to over-promise about the future,” says Pondel. “Be proactive about reaching out to new investors and participating in NDRs and conferences. They are not a waste of time, even in a bear market.”

Consider this blog entry a primer to a larger discussion on investor sentiment, a key topic we’re aiming to further develop into a whitepaper this fall, with insightful take-aways to help public companies improve communication and messaging during volatile times.

Chris Casacchia, ccasacchia@pondel.com

Are the Traits of Exceptional CFOs any Different than Those of CEOs? 

According to a recent article at CFO.com, there isn’t much overlap.

In a blog I wrote a while back about effective CEOs, critical traits included: decisiveness, willingness to collaborate, being a doer, setting realistic expectations, insightfulness, innovative thinking and courage, among others.

While those are outstanding traits for any senior executive, what else specifically – other than hopefully having an affinity for math and knowledge of accounting – does it take to be a successful CFO?

  • Good communications skills. It’s one thing to know a company’s financials inside and out, but another thing altogether to use that data to tell a compelling story. It’s also crucial that CFOs appreciate the importance of clear and concise messaging to internal audiences to help key stakeholders understand the meaning behind the data.
  • Ability to analyze. Today, the amount of data generated is astronomical, but at face value likely doesn’t tell us much. A good CFO will be able to turn that data into actionable ideas that help move a company forward.
  • Love (or at least like) of technology. Is this really important if you’re not the head technology honcho?  Absolutely yes. CFOs hold responsibility for financial reporting, so understanding and choosing the right tech partner is paramount. It is also likely that CFOs will be asked to put their rubber stamps on technology that may not directly impact financial reporting but could impact other parts of the company … often significantly if that technology doesn’t work as expected.
  • Risk appreciation. The business environment has changed considerably since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, and it continues to change every day for a number of reasons. Good CFOs will assess risk/reward profiles before making decisions, whether financial or otherwise.
  • A world view outside of finance.While CFOs have a wide range of duties and expectations related to a company’s financials, the best CFOs have knowledge and opinions outside that narrow view, including being aware of the global environment and a company’s role within it.
  • Capacity to strategize and collaborate. It is readily apparent to me based on almost 30 years of working with executive teams, that the best CFOs partner with their CEOs to help achieve their company’s objectives. The old adage, “No man is an island” rings true.
  • Attention to social issues. ESG has become an increasingly important topic, particularly for publicly traded companies and the planet. CFOs need to understand how their companies operate within a greater construct. A company’s impact on the environment, for example, could have ramifications for that company’s ability to attract talent, customers and investors, not to mention the impact to the globe.

Robert Half, a leading provider of specialized talent solutions and business consulting, noted similar traits in its recent article, “How to Become a CFO: 5 Steps to Guide Your Career Path.” 

Essentially the same advice comes from the MIT Sloan School of Business CFO Summit Chair and CFO Leadership Council founder, Jack McCullough, who says that “A great CFO is a rockstar CFO.”

Gartner has some good advice as well. The research firm surveyed more than 100 CFOs around the world and found that great CFOs are customer-oriented, build constructive conversations with the CEO and board, apply financial leadership principles to time management, and are closely involved with the business.

Are there other important traits for effective CFOs not covered here?  Let us know if you can think of any.

Laurie Berman, lberman@pondel.com

Ignorance is No Excuse: The Importance of Reg FD Training

You may remember that Martha Stewart spent time in prison.

She served five months behind bars and another five months of house confinement at her 153-acre estate in New York, wearing an electronic monitoring bracelet, for selling 4,000 shares of ImClone Systems before news of the FDA’s rejection of one of ImClone’s cancer drugs was made public.

ImClone’s former CEO, Samuel Waskal, a friend of Stewart’s who presumably gave her the stock tip, served a seven-year prison term after pleading guilty to orchestrating stock trades, as well as to other corporate misdeeds.

How much insider trading is going on in U.S. stock markets based on material, non-public information? At least four times more than regulators actually catch and prosecute, according to research from the University of Technology Sydney. 

Could Reg FD training have helped either of them avoid prison sentences? 

We’d certainly like to think so. For Waskal, of course, he definitely knew better as CEO of a publicly traded company. Stewart may have never heard of Reg FD, but she should have known better as well, based on plain old common sense.

Whether you’re working at a public company for the first time, or you’re a seasoned pro, being aware of Reg FD (Regulation Fair Disclosure) and how to avoid missteps is vitally important. Many companies provide periodic formal Reg FD refresher training even for public company veterans. Not only does such training help prevent employees from disclosure pitfalls, but it also serves as a record that your company takes disclosure seriously.

Starting with the basics, Reg FD became effective more than two decades ago to help the SEC prevent selective disclosure of material, non-public information, remedying the perception of unfairness in communications throughout the investment community. One of the key principles of Reg FD is that information must be broadly distributed, not selectively disseminated. A good rule of thumb is to provide full disclosure to all … all the time.

What constitutes materiality? If there is a substantial likelihood that an investor would consider the subject important in the total mix of information when making an investment decision, and if it is reasonable to expect that the information could have an effect – up or down – on a stock’s price, it’s probably material.

Things to consider include receipt of a big contract, M&A, a stock buy-back program, a director or officer resignation, among many others. Materiality can be somewhat subjective though, so it’s important to communicate with your attorneys if there is any doubt.

There are two simple rules to follow to ensure you’re not running afoul of the SEC (and that you don’t wind up like Martha Stewart):

  • Never buy stock in your company, or encourage others to do so, when you are in possession of material, non-public information.
  • If you ever have questions about whether, and when, you, as an insider, can buy or sell your company’s stock, contact your CEO, CFO or legal counsel.

Keep in mind that while there are remedies for inadvertently disclosing material, non-public information, you should strive never to have to use those remedies. But, just in case, here are the steps to take should someone slip:

  • Let an authorized company spokesperson know as soon as possible, so that that person can work to promptly determine the nature and materiality of the selective disclosure. (Authorized spokespersons are required to determine the cause of the selective disclosure and take appropriate steps to reduce or eliminate the risk of recurrence.)
  • Within 24 hours of the inadvertent disclosure, or at the next opening of market session, a company may issue a press release or file Form 8-K with the SEC containing the material information that was deemed to be selective disclosure.

If it happened to Martha Stewart, is can happen to anyone. “It was horrifying, and no one — no one — should have to go through that kind of indignity, really, except for murderers, and there are a few other categories,” Stewart told Katie Couric during a 2017 interview on the Today Show.

Aside from providing Reg FD training to pre-IPO and newly public companies, along with refresher sessions, PondelWilkinson has been approved by the California Bar Association to provide one-hour Reg FD training sessions to attorneys for CLE credits. While we have to know the ins and outs to be effective trainers, we’d love to hear about your Reg FD experiences.

Laurie Berman, lberman@pondel.com

­10 Tips to Best Prepare for New SEC Universal Proxy Rule Change to Shareholder Voting

For boards and senior management teams of publicly traded companies, a major law change by the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission will soon go into effect for what some pundits believe could be a period of renewed activism ahead.

The new rule states that for annual shareholder meetings held after August 31, 2022, parties in a contested election must use universal proxy cards that include all director nominees presented for election.

Without going into all of the details, the rule gives shareholders the ability to vote by proxy for their preferred combination of board candidates, similar to voting in person. It addresses longstanding concerns that shareholders voting by proxy were not able to vote for a mix of dissident and registrant nominees in an election contest, as they could if they voted in person.  And very few shareholders, even before COVID, attend annual meetings in person.

The SEC’s new rule on shareholder voting will go into effect on August 31, 2022. Photo credit: Roger Pondel

As Gary Gensler, chairman of the SEC, said in a press release late last year, “Today’s amendments will put (all) candidates on the same ballot. They will put investors voting in person and by proxy on equal footing. This is an important aspect of shareholder democracy.”

No one knows for sure what will happen, and maybe nothing, but major law firms around the nation, proxy advisors, the National Institute of Investor Relations, and others have been talking it up big time in articles, webinars and conference panels.

On one hand, many smart minds – including our friend and long-time proxy campaign strategist Keith Gottfried, who recently addressed a PondelWilkinson staff meeting – believe that because it will be easier and less costly to run election contests, this hotly debated issue will “change the playing field dramatically” and foster greater shareholder activism. Gottfried, who just launched Washington, D.C.-based Gottfried Shareholder Advisory LLC, a boutique strategic advisory firm focused on shareholder activism preparedness and defense, said companies in the $300 million to $1 billion+ market cap range could be particularly vulnerable.

On the other hand, there is the thought that the new rule will stimulate a seismic shift in how activism is carried out. Rather than causing tumult at the annual meeting, there could even be increased engagement between issuers and activists that may foster cooperation and settlements.  

Our overview advice is for corporate boards, CEOs and CFOs to be armed with information and get ahead of the matter now to eliminate a potential sting and be prepared so there will not be an issue later. Consider the following:

  • Take a fresh look at your shareholder activist preparedness and defenses in order to react quickly, sans panic, for potential increased shareholder activism. With the help of a professional, revisit advance notice bylaws, corporate disclosure policies regarding director elections and determine whether changes are needed
  • Keep an eye on your peers. If there’s increased activism there, it may be coming your way as well.
  • Don’t get complacent in thinking that because your larger shareholders may have been quiet, they are not paying attention to your company. Periodically reach out pro-actively to them for updates.
  • Deploy best communications practices day-to-day, including transparency on quarterly conference calls and in press releases.
  • Think about conducting a Reg FD refresher training session for your senior staff and board. Having such a session “on the record” is a healthy omen that the company is sensitive to this important governance matter. 
  • Consider providing shareholders with an in-depth look at your company by hosting an investor day that showcases the operating tier of management, not just the senior-most corporate staff.
  • Know what your shareholders are thinking, even to the extent of conducting a third-party perceptions survey. The shareholders will appreciate that you are having an objective party ask candid questions. As the issuer, you may learn a thing or two and ward off a problem you may not even know existed.
  • Pay close attention to ESG matters, which are top-of-mind these days throughout the investment community in both large and small companies.
  • Be mindful of board composition, including diversity, experience and tenure.
  • Be alert, listen and do not be afraid of “well-wishing” shareholders who like to give advice on corporate growth, valuation and other board and management matters. Embrace them and pay attention to what they are saying. Often their biggest demand is for a company’s sale, not necessarily to “fix” anything or for a board seat.

It’s not only in politics, where voting rights issues are surfacing. The SEC’s new universal proxy rule is something to at least start thinking about seriously. If nothing else, it should prompt action for companies to take an inner look and be certain that best governance and communications practices are fully in place.

Roger Pondel, rpondel@pondel.com

SPACs: No Small Potatoes, and Still Growing Like an Idaho Spud

It is nearly impossible these days to avoid SPACs, which most of you know by now stands for Special Purpose Acquisition Companies.

According to SPAC Insider, there were 226 SPAC IPOs from 2009 through 2019, compared with 248 in 2020 alone. No small potatoes as a financing vehicle, SPACs this year will experience yet another spurt of explosive growth.

Mark Y. Liu, partner at Akerman LLP, who hosted a recent webinar on the topic, said those 248 SPACs raised $83 billion last year. Amazingly, 550 SPACS were in registration as of March 31, 2021, looking to raise $162 billion more. And SPAC Analytics reveals that SPACs made up 55 percent of all IPOs in 2020 and 76 percent of those thus far in 2021.

Sometimes known as “blank check” companies, SPACs are typically publicly owned shell companies with no operations, but with mandates to acquire private operating companies, usually in a specifically stated sector. If the SPAC does not complete a transaction within 18-24 months, it is liquidated, and funds are returned to the company’s investors. 

Trend or a fad? 

SPACs are growing like Idaho spuds and loved by investors.

While the numbers appear to say “trend,” Business Insider recently noted that investor appetite for SPACs is declining. Additionally, SPACs have come under scrutiny by the SEC over reporting, accounting and governance practices.

On the other hand, and supporting the trend side of the equation, Goldman Sachs estimates that that SPACs could drive $900 billion in M&A enterprise value in the next two years, with nearly $129 billion of SPAC capital currently searching for acquisition targets.

James Keckler, from D.A. Davidson’s investment banking group, and on the webinar with Liu, noted a few things to watch for on the horizon. He believes SPACs and their acquisition targets will get even bigger; that celebrities will continue to increase their involvement with SPACs; and that there could be multiple companies involved in a SPAC merger, versus the typical one-to-one model currently being utilized. Does that mean conglomerate?

The real question:

Are SPACs good for sponsors, the acquired companies and investors? The answer according to Liu, and others, is a resounding “yes” for all three. 

For SPAC sponsors, the benefits include access to capital markets, founder warrants and common stock incentives, and the ability to use both cash and stock for acquisitions. For potential acquisition targets (this one comes from Covington Capital Management), the ability to skip the tedious process of filing a registration statement and bypass a roadshow is attractive. And for investors, the positives include redemption rights, $10 per unit liquidation value and liquidity. 

On the downside, and not that much different from any company going through the IPO process, are the costs of going public, the reporting requirements, market oversaturation, and as some industry watchers have noted, SEC scrutiny (although this could be a good thing for investors).

Whether one is a SPAC investor, merging a company into a SPAC, or forming one, below are a few sound principles to practice:

  • First, a public company is a public company. No matter the capital structure, management team or industry, all rules and regulations governing exchange-traded securities must be closely followed.
  • Next, it is vitally important that communications are complete and transparent, both requisites to build credibility and a loyal investor following.
  • Third, fourth and fifth, research the management teams and their backgrounds; understand what the investment opportunity is really about; and ensure that the language in all documents is easy to understand, with jargon kept to a minimum.

Lastly, although there are many more “secrets” that we readily share with our clients, please know that SPAC formation, merging, and investing are not necessarily quick ways to riches. Old fashioned performance, and maybe even going public through the tried-and-true method established by the SEC in 1933, usually will win out in the long-term. But for right now, SPACs are growing like Idaho spuds and loved by investors.

Laurie Berman, lberman@pondel.com

Roger Pondel, rpondel@pondel.com

When the Viral Fog Lifts

Those who live in Southern California fully understand the terms “May gray” and “June gloom.” It’s that time of year when the sun comes out late afternoon. The temperature isn’t that cold, but gloominess permeates the air and stays around for most of the daylight hours. Most people hate it.

This year, at least for those who live in Los Angeles, the pre-summer grayness is no big deal. There’s a lot more to complain about than the weather.

Regardless of who you ask, or what television news station you watch, when that sun is fully bright again, there is consistent agreement that a “new normal” will surface. I am not one for pontificating about what’s ahead, especially when so much of the future remains racked with uncertainty. But in our niche of investor relations and strategic public relations, I will throw caution to the wind and make a few prognostications about how our sector already is transforming:

  • Few, if any, in-person non-deal road shows (NDRs), but plenty of virtual ones. CEOs and CFOs will love that. It will keep them in the office and save lots of time, to say nothing about eliminating many expenses, like air fare, hotels, limos, fancy restaurant meals. Virtual NDRs are in. They may be easier to schedule, but they must be visual and engaging to hold interest. Hello Zoom.
  • Virtual annual meetings already are the new norm. They will be on the rise and probably never go away. CEOs and CFOs may like that, too, but investors may not. Management will control the question and answer chat button, and the democratization of public companies may take one giant step backward. So watch carefully for a rise in activism for those companies that aren’t communicative and transparent, aren’t performing and aren’t unlocking shareholder value.
  • Desk-side briefings with journalists are history. There are fewer business journalists these days, anyway, and their time has become quite limited for casual background coffee klatches. A phone call or video interview will have to do, but there had better be something cogent to say.
  • Quarterly conference calls will become even more important. But management teams sorely need to interject more life into their presentations and not merely recite numbers. Yes, they will likely still be scripted, but it would be better if they could be turned into quarterly Zoom fireside chats for the Q&A portion.
  • Investor days are still important, but as with annual shareholder meetings, for the foreseeable future, they will be virtual. This will save money, possibly attract more attendees, and eliminate the free-lunch bunch. But to be effective, they need to be live, and engage with the audience, or attendees will be distracted while management drones on.  
  • Virtual investor conferences already have arrived and will likely increase in number. But be careful which ones to attend, either as a presenter or an investor. They can prove to be a waste of time. From the issuers’ perspectives, it’s important to know who’s really paying attention. Is anyone really listening? Sponsors should do whatever it takes to do it right, such as using video to make it worthwhile and come alive.
  • Assure that “out-of-sight, out-of-mind” syndrome does not set it. With much of the above happening in the privacy of one’s home office – or at least not in the offices of investors and analysts – greater attention must be paid to messaging for those who are listening.

The times, and the market, are changing fast. Balance sheets are more important than ever. Investors are looking for corporate measures to assure that capital is being deployed in value-accretive activities. With fewer, if hardly any, companies providing financial guidance, investors want to see actions that can translate into trackable metrics. They want to hear from management teams more often, and perhaps in new, or old, ways, like maybe bringing back the quarterly report. And once regarded principally as feel-good commentary, stockholders today look increasingly to investing in companies that focus on environmental, social and governance measures.

Unlike a CEO of a publicly traded company providing financial guidance on a quarterly earnings call – with significant consequences if wrong – no real harm has been done if my forecast for the future of investor relations is wrong. And maybe, just maybe, if I am right, the transformation will be good for all when the viral fog lifts. Except, of course, for missing some great meals in those fancy New York restaurants while on an NDR.  

Roger Pondel, rpondel@pondel.com

No Shut-down for Activism

While activist activity was down a bit in the first quarter of 2020, compared with last year’s first quarter, according to Activist Insight’s “Shareholder Activism in Q1 2020” report, there were still plenty of shareholder demands made of public companies.

By sector, industrials was the largest group impacted by activism, followed by financial services and consumer cyclicals. Large cap companies were the most affected, with U.S.-based companies making up 70 percent of those subjected to activist demands.

Shareholder demands are still being made of public companies, according to Activist Insight’s “Shareholder Activism in Q1 2020” report.

Lazard’s 1Q 2020 activism review shows that the number of targeted companies in the first quarter of this year was roughly the same as in last year’s first quarter. On the other hand, Reuters, reporting on the Lazard review, noted that while 2020 began on a strong note, with activist firms pushing for change at 42 companies in the first two months of the year, new activist campaign launches fell by 38 percent in March, when the global economic shut-down began in earnest.  Further, Reuters reported that new activist campaigns were, “launched at the slowest pace since 2013 and corporate agitators put the smallest amount of money to work since 2016.”  

Even so, there are several high-profile campaigns looming. One getting some buzz, according to Bloomberg, is Standard General’s proxy fight with Tenga, Inc., a $2 billion media company. This contest will be the first-ever all-digital board fight. With Standard General seeking four board seats, Tenga’s virtual annual meeting on April 30 will be a test for activism, both digitally and in the world of COVID-19. 

While virtual annual meetings are nothing new, counting contested votes remotely is. Bloomberg noted that Broadridge Financial Solutions Inc., which prepares, ships and counts most of the proxies for U.S. companies, doesn’t currently have a specific platform to allow for remote voting in a contested situation.  According to a Broadridge representative, the company, “lacks the technology” to count virtual votes when there are competing director slates. 

Bob Marese, president at MacKenzie Partners Inc., a proxy solicitation firm, said that it could, “be more difficult for proxy solicitors get investors to switch their votes in the lead up to the meeting because many are not in the office, nor are the bankers or brokers they may need to change their vote.” Other potential pitfalls include the inability for shareholders to ask tough questions in a virtual meeting setting. According to the Financial Times (as reported by IR Magazine), investors have become concerned that virtual annual meetings could “shift the balance of power” away from shareholders, as companies have greater control over managing Q&A sessions virtually.

What does the future hold for activist activity? Since many companies have curtailed stock buyback activity in light of the COVID-19 crisis, Lazard believes that activists pressing for return of capital through buybacks will not be a focus. 

Jim Rossman, the head of shareholder advisory at Lazard, believes that, “lower M&A activity and companies focused on conserving cash will mean that activists are likely to increase their focus on operational performance and how management teams react to the crisis as the basis for new campaigns.” He went on to say that activists will likely want to avoid looking overly aggressive during the pandemic as to not offend other investors, “whose help they might need in pushing their case later.” 

Chris Young, managing director and global head of contested situations at Jefferies, also believes overly aggressive activists could face media backlash for seemingly profiting off the pandemic. Young further believes that, “having lived through the prior period of sky-high market volatility, we expect there will be a decline in activist campaigns in the near-term. Once volatility subsides and corporate valuations reset at new normal levels, however, we expect activists could have enough time to initiate new campaigns, including submitting director nominations for proxy season 2021.”

While COVID-19 may be changing the activist landscape in the near-term, the same best practices apply to help make sure your company is ready in the event of aggressive shareholder demands. Analyze your shareholder base and stay in-the-know about changes in ownership, especially during a period of extreme volatility when activists can build positions more cheaply; be open to proactively engaging with investors, even while you hunker down to focus on the impact of the current health crisis and economic downturn; and, think about adopting a “poison pill,” or at least having one at the ready. 

Laurie Berman, lberman@pondel.com

The Danger of High Flying Startups

WeWork, once a darling of Wall Street, even before its planned IPO, has been in the news a lot…and not because its stock price is flying high after going public.

In fact, as those in the investment community well know, WeWork recently pulled its IPO amidst investor doubts about the company’s valuation and concerns about corporate governance, according to the Wall Street Journal.

A follow-up WSJ story covered the incredible downfall of the company and its CEO, who has since been relieved of his duties, removing him from the company he started in 2010. According to an editorial in The Washington Post, “This might be the most spectacular implosion of a business in U.S. history. Other failures were bigger, in mere dollars. But WeWork has to be the most literally incredible. Profanity seems somehow inadequate. It’s just . . . holy wow.”

This spectacular implosion points to WeWork’s former CEO, Adam Neumann, whom The Atlantic called the “Most Talented Grifter of Our Time.” That’s saying a lot, given the downfall of Theranos due to its founder, Elizabeth Holmes, and the billions stolen by Bernie Madoff, pyramid schemer extraordinaire.

Looking at some of Neumann’s actions, it seems like the writing was on the wall.

For example, during a courting process by Nasdaq and the New York Stock Exchange, Neumann was said to have asked if the exchanges would ban meat or single-use plastic products in their cafeterias. A noble thought for sure, but one has to wonder what kind of power Neumann thought he could wield. While working on the company’s S-1 in preparation for the IPO, Neumann’s wife, also WeWork’s chief brand officer, insisted it be printed on recycled paper, but rejected early printings as not being up to snuff. This set the process back by days, because the original printer refused to work with them anymore. Earlier in his history, Neumann is reported to have claimed that he wanted to become “leader of the world, amassing more than $1 trillion in wealth.” While a successful CEO needs to have a healthy ego, these vignettes point to someone whose ego passed healthy, all the way to downright irrational.

SoftBank Group eventually bailed WeWork out through a $10 billion+ takeover, which, according to Reuters, gave Neumann a $1.7 billion payoff. That’s a lot more than the company’s currently estimated $8 billion valuation, but not even close to the $47 billion valuation it supposedly held in January.

Can the WeWork story provide insight for future start-ups and for venture capitalists who fund them?

For one, the financials, operations and inner workings of a company matter. When a high-profile unicorn, with a tremendous pre-IPO valuation files an S-1, the details become public and scrutinized by a lot of very smart investors. If a company is not on solid ground, with a strategic plan that can be effectively implemented, it’s probably not ready to go public. Additionally, when a CEO of a high-profile unicorn, with a tremendous pre-IPO valuation has delusions of grandeur, it’s probably not a great idea to back him or her, unless they have proven their worth.

While there’s no cookie cutter mold for determining which companies and CEOs will ultimately be successful, quality should be the rule, among many other warning signs that should be heeded.

Laurie Berman, lberman@pondel.com

Socially Responsible Investor Relations

Companies are often encouraged to disclose their do-gooder ways when it comes to environmental, social and governance principles, known as ESG. After all, an increasing number of investors are basing their investments on these traits. More than a quarter of the $88 trillion assets under management globally are invested based on ESG policies, according to a McKinsey & Co. study. So why aren’t investor relations professionals held to similar standards? IR folks must confront ethical issues daily.

We are often conduits to investors making significant decisions that have implications for people’s retirement or college tuition savings, and yet there isn’t a governing body (except for the SEC in extreme cases) that consistently assesses the way IROs handle their business. For example, how often do IROs tout financial results when the results actually suck? Obfuscating the truth does no one any favors.

To get the conversation going on what principles should apply to IROs from an ESG perspective, following is an attempt to construct the beginnings of a manifesto for socially responsible IR:

Put management teams in front of the right investors. We’re all busy and stressed out trying to please our bosses. Don’t let lack of genuine investor interest lead you down the path of quick-fix meetings with toxic money.

Don’t bury the lead. If financial results are bad, do not wait until 10 paragraphs later to discuss why in a news release.

Call investors back in 24 hours. Who you gonna call? Your investors. Yes, they are important no matter how big or how small. Never let too much time pass before calling them back.

Think about what’s in the best interest of shareholders when advising management. Simple rule to follow but difficult to implement when agendas conflict.

Attend investor conferences strategically. Management teams should only attend investor conferences if they serve to enhance exposure among an important group of investors. Do not attend conferences if the schedule is anemic.

Provide guidance that is realistic. Guidance can be a very slippery slope. An honest assessment of what the company can achieve will enhance credibility.

Do not underestimate the power of social media. One word: Tesla.

Rely on your colleagues to tell a company’s story. From CFOs to CMOs, your colleagues can help you craft a compelling narrative. Monologues are boring. Breathe life into a story with different voices.

Announce news that’s really news. Or else it’s just noise.

Speak up. IROs are often privy to conversations that may have dire consequences for the company and its shareholders. Never withhold information from people who can help rectify an issue.

— Evan Pondel, epondel@pondel.com