About the Sell-side Awards

AIRA's sell-side awards recognise the contribution and importance of the broking community, in particular, corporate access and sales teams in enhancing the practice of investor relations across Australasian listed entities.

The Awards to be conferred at the 2025 event are:

  1. Best Australasian Equities Conference
  2. Best Equities Conference for Small / Emerging Companies Organised by a Boutique Broker or Commercial Conference Organiser
  3. Best Domestic Investor Access
  4. Best International Investor Access
  5. Best Retail Investor Access
VOTING METHODOLOGY

An online survey is distributed to heads of investor relations from ASX 200 and NZX 50 companies asking them to score each broking house at out of 10 for each of the awards.  When scoring brokers, consideration should be given to the award criteria and your decision should be based on your experience over the last twelve months.

The following points eliminate any uncertainty around vote stacking:

  • Each Listed Entity is permitted to score each broker once for each award - the system is set up to support this
  • We ask participants to score each conference they have attended / broker they have used out of 10
  • A minimum number of responses is required for qualification in each award category
  • We are using a mean score to determine winners
Best Australasian Equities Conference

When thinking about this award, we would ask that listed entities:

  • Give consideration to attendance at both generalist Australasian and specialist sector conferences hosted by either a broker or a commercial conference organiser that they have attended. That reference be given to the period from 1 July 2023 up until now; and
  • Score all conferences that you attended out of 10 (where 10 is excellent and 1 is very poor).

When scoring, that consideration be given to the following criteria:

  • Quality of investors and meetings
  • Variety of investors (eg: superannuation funds, large institutions, boutique fund managers, offshore investors, ESG investors and for retail conferences, high net worth investors)
  • Format (combination of group presentations, one-on-ones and small group meetings held either virtually, physically or in a hybrid format)
  • Ease of participation (eg: logistical considerations)
  • Frequency and quality of corporate contact including schedule updates and post meeting feedback

Best Equities Conference for Small / Emerging Companies Organised by a Boutique Broker or Commercial Conference Organiser

 

When thinking about this award, we would ask that listed entities:

  • Consider their attendance at generalist and/or sector-based conferences hosted by a boutique broker or commercial conference organiser.
  • Assess conferences held from 1 July 2024 to present.
  • Score all attended conferences out of 10 (where 10 is excellent and 1 is very poor).

When scoring, that consideration be given to the following criteria:

  • Quality of investors and meetings
  • Diversity of small and emerging company investors (e.g., superannuation funds, large institutions, boutique fund managers, offshore investors, ESG investors, and for retail conferences, high-net-worth investors)
  • Format (e.g., combination of group presentations, one-on-ones, and small group meetings held virtually, in person, or in a hybrid format)
  • Ease of participation (e.g., logistical considerations)
  • Frequency and quality of corporate contact (e.g., schedule updates and post-meeting feedback)

Note: A boutique broker is defined as a stand-alone broking firm that is not a subsidiary of a global investment bank.

Best Retail Investor Access

When thinking about this award, we would ask that listed entities:

  • Give consideration to access and reach provided by specialist retail brokers to high net worth investors. That reference be given to the period from 1 July 2023 up until now; and
  • Score each broker who assisted with these events out of 10 (where 10 is excellent and 1 is very poor).

When scoring, that consideration be given to the following criteria:

  • Breadth and quality of retail contacts and relationships
  • Influence on existing or targeted shareholder base
  • Quality of personnel on the retail desk, including knowledge of company
  • Frequency and quality of corporate contact including schedule updates and post meeting feedback
  • Consistency and support of analyst recommendations
  • Importance of investor broking relationship in choice of broker
Best Domestic Investor Access

When thinking about this award, we would ask that listed entities:

  • Give consideration to all events (outside of broker hosted or commercially organised conferences) that are used to engage / target institutional investors located IN Australia and / or New Zealand.  These events could be, but not limited to: broker hosted post results lunches and briefings; domestic roadshows; virtual briefings; small group briefings; and specialist themed events. That reference be given to the period from 1 July 2023 up until now; and 
  • Score each broker who assisted with these events out of 10 (where 10 is excellent and 1 is very poor).

When scoring, that consideration be given to the following criteria:

  • Quality of investors and meetings
  • Variety of investors (eg: superannuation funds, large institutions, boutique fund managers, ESG investors).
  • Format (post results lunches and briefings, domestic roadshows, virtual briefings, small group briefings and special themed events held either virtually, physically or in a hybrid format).
  • Ease of participation (eg: logistical considerations, accessibility of technology used in virtual events)
  • Influence on existing or targeted shareholder base
  • Quality of people on the sales desk, including knowledge of the company
  • Frequency and quality of corporate contact including schedule updates and post meeting feedback
Best International Investor Access

When thinking about this award, we would ask that listed entities:

  • Give consideration to all events (outside of broker hosted or commercially organised conferences) that are used to engage / target institutional investors located OUTSIDE of Australia and / or New Zealand.  These events could be, but not limited to: International roadshows; reverse roadshows where a broker brings an offshore investor into Australia and / or New Zealand to meet with companies; virtual briefings; virtual fireside chats with a CEO/CFO; small group briefings; special themed events and group site tours for offshore investors.  Please include any online platform that you may have used to assist in this process as well.  That reference be given to the period from 1 July 2023 up until now; and 
  • Score each broker who assisted with these events out of 10 (where 10 is excellent and 1 is very poor).

When scoring, that consideration be given to the following criteria:

  • Quality of investors and meetings
  • Variety of investors (eg: superannuation funds, large institutions, boutique fund managers, ESG investors)
  • Format / Event (International roadshows; reverse roadshows; virtual briefings; virtual fireside chats with the CEO; small group briefings; specialist themed events and group site tours for offshore investors held either virtually, physically or in a hybrid format).
  • Ease of participation (eg: logistical considerations, accessibility of technology used in virtual events)
  • Influence on existing or targeted shareholder base
  • Quality of people on the sales desk, including knowledge of the company
  • Frequency and quality of corporate contact including schedule updates and post meeting feedback

 

2024 Award Winners