What Investors Actually Look for in Your Equity Story: Insights from BNY’s Global Investor Study
We recently heard Karen Bodner on the Winning IR podcast share findings from a global investor study conducted by BNY. The study surveyed 40 investors representing more than $2 trillion in assets under management.
When asked what they wanted to see in equity stories, investors did not ask for innovation or creative storytelling. They wanted companies to focus on the basics.
Below are the top takeaways from the conversation with Karen, along with a bit of our own interpretation on what each one means for IR teams in practice.
1. Simplicity is the foundation
“Investors told us they wanted simplicity. They wanted to see the strategy, the vision, and the competitive landscape, and that came up over and over again (across investor types and regions).”
Investors are not asking for the basics first. They don’t seem to care for a fancy or polished narrative. They want to understand where the company plays, how it competes, and what advantage it can sustain. This is not about dumbing down complexity. It is about establishing a clear frame of reference that investors can test against peers, industry research, and their own analysis.
2. Investors want the business broken down, not summed up
“Investors want to see a segment-by-segment breakdown – geography, division, asset class… however you actually run the business. That’s how they want to see it.”
Karen goes deeper and shares why segment structure matters:
- Investors evaluate performance piece by piece – High-level summaries hide the details they need to build conviction
- Segment logic should mirror operations – The structure should reflect how management actually runs and allocates resources across the business
- Consistency enables comparison – Stable segmentation allows investors to track trends and spot changes in performance over time
3. Clarity and consistency over innovation
“When we asked investors what was innovative that they wanted to see (in how companies tell their investor story), no one mentioned anything innovative. Nothing. They wanted honest, clear, and transparent financials…presented simply, the same way, quarter after quarter (so they could compare it easily).”
Investors continue to prioritize clarity, consistency, and transparency over novel communication approaches.
Investors were clear about what matters to them: financial information that is easy to understand, comparable over time, and presented consistently quarter after quarter.
From their perspective, the value lies in simplicity and consistency. A structure they recognize. Data they can track. And disclosure that does not change unless the business truly does.
4. Growth assumptions are actively cross-checked
“Company A thinks that my market’s going to grow by 5%. Their direct peer says it’s going to grow by 10%. And the research analyst I trust says it’s going to grow by 2%. Who’s right? (In other words, investors are cross-checking your projections across multiple sources.)
Investors do not accept market assumptions at face value. They triangulate across peers and analysts. If your view differs meaningfully, that gap becomes a focal point. You need to explain why your perspective is different, and that explanation needs to be defensible. (Just like my daughter’s Math teacher says, “show your work”.)
5. Evidence and meetings build credibility
“What makes a management team credible? Evidence that they’ve done things in the past, but also meetings – that in-person, face-to-face clarity (you get from direct conversation). That basic ‘block-and-tackling’ of IR remains super important.”
Management credibility is not built just through polished decks or confident claims. It is built through:
- Evidence – Investors want to see that management has executed similar initiatives successfully before
- Interaction – The ability to answer tough questions clearly and build trust through direct, transparent engagement
6. Macro matters only through response
“(When addressing macro factors and market challenges,) it’s not just ‘this is my market and this is what’s happening.’ It’s ‘this is my strategy and how I plan to meet those challenges: if A happens, we’ll do B.’ (Investors want to see your playbook, not just the landscape.)”
Investors are up to speed on macro. What they want to know if your response plan to macro changes:
- Scenario thinking: Clear if-then frameworks that show management has thought through different scenarios and outcomes
- Track record: Evidence that you have successfully navigated similar challenges before
- Operational readiness: Specific actions tied to specific conditions
The companies that earn trust are not the ones with the best predictions. They are the ones with the clearest plans accounting for various scenarios.
7. Strategic shifts need dedicated forums
“You can’t communicate a strategic shift (or major changes) in the quarterly results. You need to do an Investor Day. You have to spend the time, bring people together, and have the business line managers present it directly… Not allocating enough time to strategic shifts and just incorporating it into quarterly earnings is a big mistake (per investors).”
Major strategic changes cannot be adequately explained in a 45-minute earnings call. This is why Investor Days are essential. They create the dedicated space investors need:
- Time to absorb and process what is changing
- Detail that goes beyond high-level talking points
- Direct access to the business, line or geographic managers actually executing the shift
If you have 20 minutes, the episode is well worth a listen. Mark Fasken (Irwin) and his team have been facilitating thoughtful conversations like this in the Winning IR Podcast.
Thank you, Mark and Karen, for this conversation and for sharing these nuggets of time-tested wisdom.
If you’d like to go deeper, BNY’s full survey report is available here.
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