03/07/2017
The FCA’s consultation "CP17/5: Reforming the availability of information in the UK equity IPOprocess" raises the stakes on publishing IPO Research online.
At present, IPO Research is printed and distributed in a timely manner to a closely targeted, defined investor list. It’s usually numbered to keep track of which copy has been sent to each investor. Clearly though, moving IPO Research online would have significant benefits for all parties, from investor to advisor to corporate client:
- Cost-efficiency
- Speed of engagement, accessibility, availability and ease-of-use
- Audit trail & accountability
- Greater management insight into investor interests, concerns and behaviour.
With the launch of its consultation paper, the FCA wrote: “The IPO process plays a vital role in helping companies raise capital in UK markets. The FCA’s April 2016 Discussion Paper on this topic reported some areas of the process that need improving, namely the timing, sequencing and quality of information being provided to market participants…. A well-functioning IPO market with high standards of conduct is an essential part of the UK’s capital markets. The IPO process has considerable strengths, but the proposals we have outlined in today’s Consultation Paper are designed to improve the range, and timeliness of higher quality information that is available to investors during the process.”
In our discussions with leading investment bankers, equity advisors and capital markets lawyers about publishing IPO Research online, concerns have been raised that such a facility:
- Must be targeted to specific individuals
- Must be secure & SEC-compliant
- Must be ‘traceable’ – full audit trail
- Must be timed – Blackout periods
- Must comply with Data Protection rules
What concerns do you have? Are there any which fall outside of these?
iRoadshow offering a robust solution which alleviates these issues, but we’d love to hear your thoughts – are there any fundamental concerns which aren’t being addressed?
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Concern |
How does iRoadshow solve this? |
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Must be targeted to specific individuals |
iRoadshow offers secure password protection with full authentication of users prior to access |
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Must be secure & SEC-compliant |
iRoadshow is an SEC-compliant electronic roadshow & has full ISO27001 security with 128bit encryption and a host of other security measures including Dynamic Watermarking |
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Must be ‘traceable’ – full audit trail |
iRoadshow provides real-time, granular level audit reports on all user activity including names, times, dates etc – including Page Level Reporting |
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Must be timed – Blackout periods |
iRoadshow provides timed periods of user access, pre-configurable or ad hoc as required |
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Must comply with Data Protection rules |
iRoadshow complies with EU and the forthcoming GDPR data protection rules |
Your thoughts, opinions and views will help shape the future of publishing IPO research online, and for every answer received we'll make a donation to charity.
Please email us: london@iroadshow.com
