Here’s why you must prioritize retail investors

Most IR/PR strategies revolve around striving to build meaningful relationships with institutional investors. And rightly so, since institutional investors are key to the growth and success of a company.

However, in recent times, the retail investors have also become a significant force that you must definitely consider while strategizing your IR/PR policy. A recent report revealed that while retail trade was just 10% of the market in 2019, it is now over 25% of the daily volume; which is a significant jump in just under a year and a half.

It is true that a single retail investor cannot cause any harm to your business, however, put together, the retail investors assume a prominent position. Together, retail investors, might be capable of price swings and even causing damage to market reputation.

If you are still ignoring the retail investors, then you must stop right away and take notice of them. And, the first step is to truly understand your retail investors. They are very different from institutional investors in all aspects. From their understanding of your business to their investment goals, they are stark apart from institutional investors.

Here are 3 things you must know about your retail investors –

· Retail investors ‘value’ your business differently than institutional investors

An institutional investor conducts due diligence before investing. They will look at analyst reports and study in-depth your financial statements and investor presentations among other things. They would want to know more about the management team and their competence. However, your ‘average’ retail investor is very different. They are rarely going to look at any of the data or statements you have released publicly. Their way of ‘valuing’ your business is very different from an institutional investor since their knowledge and understanding of your business (or, industry) is very limited.

· Retail investors have access to different information than institutional investors

Since a retail investor has limited access to data about your business, he is going to seek information from sources such as social media, forums, online news websites, community groups and more. The information…