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Jim Letourneau's Blog

Retired Life

Investing, Technology, Travel, Geology, Music, Golf. I think that covers it.

In Your Face Doesn't Work

Canadian small cap companies are slowly figuring out that they need to educate potential shareholders on what they are about. If a company doesn’t require a capital raise, chances are there aren’t very many brokers telling their clients about it. Education beats the “in your face” approach every time. Not everyone knows your lingo, why not define your terms for the uninitiated? Not everyone knows the significance of your management group, why not have them put up LinkedIn profiles so people can see what they’ve done and who they know. Touting someone’s lottery win when they’ve been an insider on 20 deals doesn’t work. Groups that don’t leave anything on the table for retail investors won’t survive much longer.

A few companies have taken some simple steps to improve investor communications and they’ve had fantastic results. Sharing of corporate presentations, YouTube videos and timely recording the answers to investor FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions) all make a big difference. This does not mean that management needs to answer every detailed investor question. Selective disclosure is not OK.

These steps do not need to be expensive, the only need to be good enough to tell the company’s story in a timely and consistent manner. Management needs to tell their story and engage their investors in a direct manner. As always, the first companies using these new tools derive the greatest benefit.

I’m encouraged today as I’ve received several useful things that I can share with my readership. I’ll usually share something educational, interesting or just plain fun.