As the impact of COVID-19 continues to be felt across economies, markets and businesses, the importance of having a robust communications strategy is essential. During a time when face-to-face meetings and roadshows are not possible, investment managers must retool their communication strategy to keep investors informed digitally.

 Modern technology is one bright light in this recent crisis. Digital tools are available to help investment managers strengthen their current and long-term digitization and overall communication strategies. In this article, we outline the actions investment managers should consider during times of crisis and identify the digital tools available to help effectively communicate with investors.

OPEN THE CHANNELS OF COMMUNICATION

While this pandemic was nearly impossible to predict, it likely leaves investment managers feeling overwhelmed with certain areas of their business. Due to the critical and pervasive nature of the virus and its effects on business, communicating with stakeholders cannot be ignored.

Crisis communication strategies require a dedicated team of senior firm members to build and develop clear and confident messaging into their strategic plan. Investment management firms should deliver frequent and transparent updates to investors that speak to performance as well as overall business operations. Now is the time to ramp up conversations with investors, building upon the trust investment managers have earned.

A good place to start is by taking a careful audit of all existing firm communications. A firm’s crisis communications team should assess what information needs to be relayed and the frequency of those communications. Weekly commentaries that summarize performance, portfolio positioning and market sentiments are critical speaking points today. Some investment management firms may also choose to provide additional transparency to investors through risk reports or position level details. In addition to managing the flow of investor communications, the team should also interface with service providers and other counterparties.

Many investment managers send monthly or quarterly letters to investors. The frequency of those letters should increase during times of crisis and provide additional details that might include adjustments to the investment strategy or comment on the impact of operating under business continuity plans.

While maintaining proactive and regular communication with investors is a priority for investment management firms, employee communications should not be forgotten. Firms should do what they can to maintain corporate culture even when employees are working remotely. This can be accomplished through regular firm updates as well as fun activities such as a Zoom exercise class, a weekly book club, or other group activities.

EMBRACE DIGITIZATION

The technology available to investment managers today allows us to remain in regular contact with investors, employees, counterparties and service providers. There is no better time than now for investment managers to fully embrace technology as an opportunity to enhance their communications process.

Most investment management firms today use a customer relationship management (CRM) tool (e.g., HubSpot or Salesforce) to manage investor information and to communicate with them efficiently. Utilizing email marketing during a crisis is critical to ensuring all investors receive timely and consistent updates.

Some investment managers have started to utilize deal rooms (e.g., Intralinks) to centralize all crisis-related communications. These tools are excellent solutions for sharing both sensitive information and regular updates in a central location.

Instead of sending a monthly letter, investment managers are using video conferencing services (e.g., Zoom or Join.me) to communicate with investors. These video conferencing tools can facilitate webinars and one-on-one investor conversations.

Many investment management firms also provide investors access to an investor portal to share performance updates. Some firms are taking it up a notch by providing additional transparency and interactive data through secure dashboards (e.g., Tableau or Plotly). Increased transparency, especially during times of crisis, reinforces investor trust.

Investment management firms should also embrace communication channels such as LinkedIn and Medium for sharing market commentaries and articles.

RESHAPE HOW WE COMMUNICATE

Proactive, investor-focused communication is always the best course of action. The COVID-19 crisis has thrown everyone off balance. We are all trying to make sense of the current “normal,” and many feel more anxious than usual. Considerate reassurances from investment managers will go a long way to putting investors’ minds at ease. Providing proactive, consistent updates, as well as being available to investors, will reinforce trust. A dedicated communications team that executes a clear communications strategy, reinforced with digital technology solutions, will provide investors with the assurances they seek. 

It will be interesting to see how investor communication transforms once this crisis passes and how technology will be leveraged to improve how investment managers share information with investors.